2014 Mid-year Brewery Report (sorta..)

I'll keep it relatively local:

Most impressed so far: Kane and Carton (tie)
Carton's Boat was always fantastic, the best session ale in the world imo, and now that 077xx is being canned as well there is finally a DIPA worth hunting down available in stores that's made in NJ! Not only that, but Carton continues to make innovative brews like Monkey Chase the Weasel, Panzanella, and an upcoming coffee IPA that is always delightful. Plus, Regular Coffee was amazing. Kane just keeps doing its thing -- amazing beer, Overhead/Head High some of the finest IPAs south of VT, and Morning Bell/Sunday Brunch are both my favorite milk porter/stout. Sunday Brunch is unreal. These two breweries are keepin' it real and elevating the NJ craft scene to new levels.
Honorable mention: Flying Dog -- their easy IPA and citra DIPA were both fantastic. I wasn't a Flying Dog fan really before this year, but they have made me a fan with some of their recent offerings. I hope they keep up the great work!

Least impressed so far: Flying Fish
You know, their double rice IPA is good, but nothing else from this brewery really seems to "wow" me. Their year-round stuff - like Hopfish, the Extra Pale Ale, and dubbel - are in need of makeovers, and it seems that the reviews agree with me. For a brewery that is capable of wide distribution and has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, they continue to disappoint. F U Sandy was also lame -- just an average beer that uses Sandy's name to get attention. This brewery, in addition to Bolero Snort and Cricket Hill (both of which don't seem to know how to make a hoppy beer), have a LONG WAY in order to compete with Kane and Carton for NJ's best brewery title.

Most uncertain about: Other Half - The one IPA I've had from them was great, but I haven't tried anything else -- so I guess I'm uncertain about them, but I'm sure they'll fall into "most impressed" once I try a few more. Not really sure who to put in this category.

 

Excellent thread


So far really been impressed with ModernTimes -
From what I've seen is that they doubled in size and quickly becoming a force to be rekoned with. The core offerings are pretty darn good and affordable making them a staple in my fridge. I'm not sure if they have a bottling line at they're brewery or where they have been bottling there stuff but so far so good on rolling out tasty brews both bottle format and cans. Can't wait to hunt down the barrel aged stout and all it's variants that's for sure, and the prototype bottle they teased on a sour or wild beer looked awesome as well. I can really seeing them becoming a popular brewery in the next couple of years
HM Pizza port

Least impressed is kinda hard to say - I'm down with even the most average beers. There's not a lot of beers I find repulsive so it always comes down to distribution. Alpine seems to have been keeping up with demand now that they've been brewing some batches over at green flash, IMO Nelson is just as good as ever. Kern River tho- what the heck? I'm tired of Just Outstanding. So much so I just pass by this overrated middle of the road IPA . I wanna see more from them!
HM the Dudes ! C'mon! Get that tasting room open

Uncertain of Golden Road - some of the nicest people I've met are people that work for GR and just a couple of they're brews are decent at best. I just wanna be able to walk into Tonys, Mohawk, and GR pub and actually order a GR beer with full confidence- these are great people and I've been waiting patiently for their brews to live up to their potential. Hopefully with V. Novak at the wheel things will shape up - keep up the good work y'all! I'm a big fan

 

Awesome thread. Kept So Cal

Most Impressed: Highland Park brewery
This brewery is tucked away behind The Hermosillo in Highland Park Los Angeles. This is the newest addition to breweries in LA and is doing exciting things. Two months in and they are doing brett-saisons, have a session coffee beer, and have some sours on the way. I did like From the Future IPA with Equinox hops the most so far.

Least Impressed: Alpine Beers (ones brewed by Green Flash)
Alpine has a great reputation and make amazing beers and started to brew Nelson, hoppy birthday and duet at Green Flash to contract brew for draft accounts in SD and LA(maybe more). A little over hyped and Nelson was cloudier then it is out of the bottle. Still good beers but did not live up to the reputation. Still a couple batches in so I am looking for an improvement but for the first beers need some work.

Uncertain: Taps and Golden Road
Victor Novak brewmaster at Taps Brewery left to become Golden Road Head Brewer. I do not know what that will mean for Golden Road or Taps. Golden Road beers have improved once Jeese their brewmaster came on board. Victor is a great add to their team. But then what will happen to Taps.

 

Most impressed so far: Cellarmaker
It's difficult to find a disappointing beer coming from Cellarmaker and the bottle releases have just begun. I expect big things from them especially if the barrel aged stouts and sours live up to the hype that their hoppy releases have created.
Honorable mention: Modern Times, Societe

Least impressed so far: Green Flash
I keep wishing I will love one of their hoppy offerings...they just don't do it for me.
Close 2nd: Founders

Most uncertain about: Fort Point
They are starting to show up on draft accounts around SF and so far it has been pretty solid. They are putting up some rustic ales and I am interested to see if they catch on in the Bay Area.

 

Sorry to go off topic a bit, but this explains a lot. Alpine beers are making their way into the SF bay area and I've had both Nelson and Hoppy Birthday. Neither blew my mind (though it might be unfair to expect that). I think I need to revisit Nelson, but I definitely wasn't impressed with Hoppy Birthday. I had no idea they were being brewed at Green Flash, so that might explain why they're not as impressive as I was led to believe.

 

Nice thread.

Most Impressed: Tree House Brewing.
Is there anything these guys can do wrong? Julius is awesome as always. Green is world class. Eureka might be the best blonde ale I've ever had. Tornado is consistent and their Curiosity series is delicious as well. And they've only been open for like 2 years and have had a collaboration beer with Lawson's.

Least Impressed: Sierra Nevada.
*Disclaimer* This is NOT about their regular releases, as those are fantastic as always. They really know how to get the hype train going, but the beer camp pack was incredibly underwhelming. When you have a world class brewery working with 12 other world class breweries, you'd expect something a bit better than mediocre. While there were some good beers in this pack, I would never pay almost 30 bucks for this again. And seeing how limited they made this Beer Camp pack, you'd think that it would be a lot better.

Most Uncertain About: Founders
I will start off this by saying that Founders is indeed one of my favorite breweries ever. But 12 bucks for a bomber of an Imperial Pilsner is a bit much, especially when I can get a 6 pack of day old Hoponius Union at Jack's Abby for less and it might even be a better beer. It does have a favorable rating on this site, but I'm still a tad bit skeptical seeing that most of their recent backstage series beers have been average to good at best. Also, Breakfast Stout seemed a bit off to me last year, so I'm hoping that it can reclaim the greatness that it had 2-3 years ago.

 

Most Impressed: Avery
I already loved Avery but their barrel aged line up this year has been world-class. Opuntia specifically is one of the strangest, best tasting wild ales I've ever had. They've been coming out with specialties more often, but have not sacrificed any of the quality.

Least Impressed: Crooked Stave
I want to love Crooked Stave like everyone else but the consistency is just not there this year. For the prices they charge I feel like every beer should be at least good, if not great. Instead a few are amazing, many are great, and many are just average (some even being bad in my opinion). Note that this 'rating' is due to expectations... they are still a great brewery.

Most Uncertain About: Paradox Beer Co
These guys brew up some crazy stuff and no matter how it turns out it seems, they bottle it up and sell it. This accounts for some awesome beers and some downright bad beers. They're still pretty new so I have hopes of them becoming more consistent in the future.

 

NorCal edition...

Most impressed by: Cellarmaker Brewing Co.
I give another vote to Cellarmaker. My first visit was around November 2013, shortly after they opened for business, and I remember they had something like 10 offerings right off the bat. They consistently make quality IPA/DIPA, sessions, and pales. And for those that tried Coffee & Cigarettes will probably agree that it's one of their best rotating beers. Growler fills on almost everything and budget friendly prices are a major plus for me. Given their in-progress barrel program and brand new bottle releases, their future is very bright in my opinion.

Least impressed by: The Rare Barrel
This was a hard decision and I'm sure not a lot of people will agree. Their grand opening in December 2013 was highly anticipated due to their 'all sours' selling point. They offer sours with unique flavors (i.e. coffee, ginger) and standard fruited blonde and dark/amber sours. But my biggest beef is with their prices. With memberships all the rage now, they announced their Founders Club price as $300 for 10 bottles (5 pairs) (and swag) prior to the opening. But to me, that forced the consumer to make a huge gamble by paying that cost without having an opportunity to try any of their beer. Bottles range from $20-30, which seems outrageous when down the road you can get SARA for $16-17. I'm not a Founder member, but maybe someone can enlighten us to their satisfaction/dissatisfaction thus far. Overall, quality doesn't justify pricepoint just yet.

Most uncertain about: Almanac Beer Co.
This was also another difficult decision. I have my favorite Farmer's Reserves and I'm sure you do too. But since the recent start of their monthly releases, others have pointed out that many of them seem to have been released prematurely or that they are a mere shadow of their former selves (i.e. FR #1-4). I've enjoyed the few I tasted so far. Now if only they just open a damn taproom already!