Notch Brewing (2020)

Not sure how that happened @followerofmen, that sucks. I do know that they did not think the festbier would sell out that quick, but I don't know how they would sell a 4 pack and not set it aside.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I don't think Notch's oktoberfest is anywhere close to its best beer. It might be the best Voll Projekt beer (though I think the doppel bock and hefe are better), but it's not in the same class as the Single Series beers. It's great to have access to a well-made, fresh festbier, but I've liked some of the imports, like Weihenstephaner and HB, a lot more both this year and last.

 

I bought a 12-pack of Paulaner Fest and loved it. The 6er of Weihenstephaner was also awesome and probably my favorite this year. Getting the Germans fresh is a game changer. But even the Saranac Oktoberfest was great this year. Seems like more breweries are spending time on brewing good lagers not just caramel malt bombs a la Sam Adams

 

New POS implemented for curbside, and the inventory depletions were not correct. Only happened on a few orders, but we are really sorry it happened. Festbier went quick, I didn't get any as well. An aside, how many here are comparing Festbier to Märzen?

 

@followerofmen Damn, that's unfortunate, hopefully they update their system for further releases. But it is good to learn how fast the release sold, there is hope! Did you get any of their "small pils?" I thought that was categorically more successful than their fest this year.

 

I'd love to make a trip up soon, but it will be October this week. Last October I made the mistake of thinking I could cruise into Salem on a weekend afternoon, hit Notch for a couple of pours, and leave with a couple of four packs. I expected the traffic to be slow due to the Halloween tourism, but I had no idea it would be so bad. The traffic was so bad and so slow that we never even got near Notch. I assume crowds will be smaller this year, but who knows? I assume typical Halloween-related events are cancelled or will be greatly reduced? Anyone have any idea of what to expect? I love visiting Salem, but not during October. But this October 2020. So, who knows?

 

I picked up a mixed case last weekend. The crowds we're typical for a mid-summer day - nothing close to the typical Halloween season madness of Sept./Oct.

The city has already cancelled or scaled-back a lot of the Haunting Happenings events (https://www.hauntedhappenings.org/city-update-2020/) and is requiring everyone to wear masks at all times while in the tourist areas (downtown / Derby St.). I'd expect a much different experience then your last October visit. That said, the earlier you go in October, the better off you'll be to avoid large crowds.

 

I live in Salem, it was crowded today. It will be a little lighter this year, but people are not staying away.

 

I’ve been out of Notch distro since the Who Loves the Sun 12-packs dropped. Any feedback on how those turned out?

 

This is the most interesting project in American craft beer to me. One of these times, I'll be around for its release.

 

I was hoping this was going to get bottled...

Wha happen?

 

They said they are going to hold off bottling until the next batch.

 

We still have four kegs, should last to Sunday.