Finback Brewery (2020)

11 of the last 12 untappd check ins for the neuromancer stout were 5.0’s.

anyone try it and thinks it’s deserving of multiple 5’s? I thought it was cloying and muddled but maybe I just don’t get big stouts. I loved the between the dead from a few months ago.

 

I briefly looked at Untappd after you posted this, @astrodanzz actually put in some work

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...k-horus-mortalis-untappd-ratings-bots.651285/

 

It's funny: Between the Dead (regular and decay) have been getting sorta typical BA stout ratings (4.35 average), and those were fantastic. Harambe is an excellent base and it's no shock those BA versions were very good. But many of the newer lines this year are getting crazy ratings. They aren't bad, but I wouldn't put them in the same category, much less say they are better than some of the more classic Finback BA stouts.

 

Someone brought up the ratings on the Other Half facebook group. People seem to think its resellers trying to boost Untappd ratings to help sale values ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

That might make sense, given that almost all the beers in question came from NY, and then the guy or gal probably has a hook-up from Horus. I posted an update in the forum about many of these profiles and the ratings they give no longer being visible (seems like the number of check-ins hasn't changed, as far as I can tell). So someone is definitely trying to get rid of these profiles.

If a re-seller, even if this person's scheme was uncovered, why delete the profiles? Even if some people know the ratings are BS, enough people seeing a 4.7 for a bunch of Finback stouts will still build the brand long-term and benefit the re-seller if that person can consistently grab the beers. Perhaps Finback or someone else is ridding the profiles though. A few brand new obvious fakes popped up today, so the scheme continues even if their is some effort to delete them.

 

@NewmansOwn turns out you were absolutely correct. It's a secondary user on My Beer Collectibles with every single beer in question. I wrote about it in the original thread.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...lis-untappd-ratings-bots.651285/#post-7105817

I would view a brewery differently if they spammed Untappd for ratings, and so I want to make sure it's clear that in this case none of the breweries I mentioned had ANYTHING to do with this distortion. It's too bad it happens with sellers doing this and I hope we can do our part to make access to true info available about how a person feels about a beer. Sure, there are biases there too and it's not perfect, but people do rely on Untappd and those ratings are better than spam.

 

No matter what went down in 2020 we are ending it strong, with friends, with cheer, and with stout (okay, and also masks ). This beer comes deep from within our hearts, a celebration of the boroughs we call home, the people we call family and the whales we forever chase. Don’t stop dreaming, bro.

2020 BQE DAY saturday 12/12
Both QNS and BK taprooms, 12.5% imperial stout, with coffee and cacao, aged in bourbon barrels...
5 variants
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BQE CHOCOLATE COFFEE, the OG base, rich chocolate, bold coffee. Balanced bourbon and wood notes.
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BQE DOUBLE BARREL, aged twice in bourbon barrel. This started as 2019 BQE, first aged in Taconic barrels from NY then racked into new Buffalo Trace barrels (over 16 months in wood). Seriously, serious...
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BQE BANANA NUT with banana, coconut and hazelnut. This year has been pretty nutty, but 2021 is going to be banana nutty.
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BQE GRANOLA with granola, Cherry, raspberry and almond. Granola is for scaling mountains and this is a high one.
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BQE CHAI with chai, vanilla, ginger and milk sugar. Namaste my friend, Namaste.
——
Bottle limits to be confirmed. See you Saturday.



Looks like the ‘tose craze has finally hit BQE. I hope they do online sales too, not trying to wait in line like last year.

 

There is a plain BQE right?

EDIT: ah yes, chocolate coffee is "regular".

 

Wow.

 

I gave it a 4, was meh to me. Definitely not a 5.

 

Based on comments in their post it sounds like their doing an in person release. Given the state of the world, the crowd this release has drawn into the past, and the weather forecast, this seems incredibly irresponsible.

 

They just commented that they will announce release details shortly. Seems if they were planning on an online release that would’ve been mentioned in the initial post but maybe they’re reconsidering what a long, incredibly slow moving (it is Finback after all) line will look like in this environment, not to mention the risk to the customers.

 

One of their people commented earlier saying it would be in person. Looks like that comment is gone now.

 

The one thing that's kept me from picking up stuff in the recent past was a lack of online store. When its NYC and COVID I'm going to go with OH automatically with curbside pickup and not having to swipe any cards. I get having an online service cuts into profits but for something like this I don't see how they can justify not doing an online system and staggering over the weekend at least, if not into Monday/Tuesday.

 

Yeah, like you all I really hoping they come to their senses and figure out how to do this one online. People who miss out will whine, which I’m sure they want to avoid, but it’s better than packing the sidewalks when cases are up. It’s just not a good move in this climate.

Dare I ask, what time did people start lining up last year?

 

It’s not the early line up that is the bad part. It is the INCREDIBLY slow (one!) POS system they typically have running. Even once they are open and moving, the line builds and builds all day long. You could find yourself standing in line for over an hour easy, even if you are 20-30 people back.

 

Finback is currently in a "yellow" zone of Queens which does not allow gatherings of over 25 people otherwise they are at risk of a fine up to $15,000.

If their mindset to not have an online sale is to save on commissions, that's penny smart but pound foolish thinking. With all the residential houses in the neighborhood and people stuck at home with nothing to do but stare at the buildup of a BQE line, potentially being fined $15k seems like an unnecessary risk.

 

If they're so hyped and I assume will be resold or traded by some, they should probably just bump the price a few bucks each if the issue is losing money to EVENTBRITE or toast or whatever. I mean it'll still sell out I assume no? I haven't been lucky enough to have it before but the impression I get is they are the best barrel aged in nyc and people will trade for the quality and checking the box. But maybe I'm wrong, as I don't trade or sell. Maybe someone else can comment to whether bottles would sit if they were $28 instead of $25 or what have you.

 

I agree with your logic but I honestly don’t give Finback that much credit for applying logic to the release. Great brewers but not the most thoughtful business owners I have ever seen.

 

Looks like they re-edited (again) their comment on Instagram, it mentions presales