5 biggest whale let downs

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by cfh64, Jan 17, 2016.

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  1. nick0417

    nick0417 Initiate (0) Jun 13, 2014 Illinois

    I've been lucky enough to have very few 'whale' letdowns, and while I wouldn't call this a letdown, I was a little underwhelmed with Pliney when I had it in San Francisco earlier this year. Sure, it's a really, really good double IPA, no question, but it just didn't live up to the hype, especially when the Midwest has a number of equally as good double IPAs, at least for me - Pipeworks Ninja v. Unicorn and Three Floyd's Dreadnaught, specifically.
     
    #101 nick0417, Jan 19, 2016
  2. cmgage

    cmgage Initiate (0) Jun 23, 2014 California

    Not that I disliked any of them, but not as incredible as expected
    1. Heady
    2. Pliny the Younger
    3. Fou' Foune
    4. Vietnamese Speedway
    5. Most Hair of the Dog
     
    #102 cmgage, Jan 19, 2016
  3. Morey

    Morey Pooh-Bah (1,822) Dec 30, 2007 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    HF Damon: Drank a bottle that had almost no aroma what so ever, and the taste wasn't much of an upgrade. Only bad HF beer that I've ever had.
     
    #103 Morey, Jan 19, 2016
  4. Zh78888

    Zh78888 Initiate (0) Nov 2, 2014 North Carolina

    if we're talking port damon, i agree. it was one of my biggest letdowns of last year. also:

    advanced oak theory : just not much funk or complexity on the bottle we opened
    westbrook ba 4th : not a whale, but definitely hyped
    ddg : really, really good, but not up to lpg or allagash coolship (for my tastes) and those bottles don't take nearly as much to acquire
     
    #104 Zh78888, Jan 19, 2016
  5. loafinaround

    loafinaround Initiate (0) Jul 16, 2011 New York

    vanilla rye. It wasn't awesome. The beer I drank after it was evil twin even more chili jesus.... and was 10X better!
     
    #105 loafinaround, Jan 19, 2016
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  6. ManBearPat

    ManBearPat Pooh-Bah (1,813) Dec 2, 2014 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah

    Surprised I haven't seen Sam Adam's Utopias mentioned yet!
     
    #106 ManBearPat, Jan 19, 2016
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  7. Morey

    Morey Pooh-Bah (1,822) Dec 30, 2007 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Actually, I was referring to Bourbon Damon believe it or not. Our Port was much better, although still not fantastic IMO.
     
    #107 Morey, Jan 19, 2016
  8. ShanePB

    ShanePB Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2010 Pennsylvania

    Not sure if I can recall five, but certainly my biggest "whale" letdown of last year was Assassin.
     
    #108 ShanePB, Jan 19, 2016
  9. cfh64

    cfh64 Pooh-Bah (2,070) Aug 16, 2005 Texas
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    First of all, I'll start off by saying I should have titled the thread differently. I realize everyone's version of a "whale" is different. BVDL may be someone elses Don Quijote. It would have been more appropriate to say something like "highly rated, small batch beers" or something like that. I didn't mean to cause a minor shit storm, it was just for fun.

    As far as specific Side Project beers I think many vary from ok to very good but I don't think they're worth what a lot of people ask for them in the trading forums. Certain breweries (ie Side Project, Hill Farmstead, maybe Jester King) have a pedigree or history of making some very good beers but just because it's more limited doesn't make it better IMO. I think a lot of people get too caught up in that. In my humble opinion, there are a lot of good hyped up beers from small breweries that wouldn't get near the attention or ratings if they were produced on a larger scale and were available off the shelf so to speak.

    So, to me, many Side Project beers fall into that category. Again, ok to very good, and I don't mean any disrespect it's just my opinion. To finally answer your question...Black and Wild, Pulling Nails 1, 2, and 3, and Thicket all come to mind.
     
    #109 cfh64, Jan 19, 2016
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  10. BltByKrmn

    BltByKrmn Maven (1,349) Jan 16, 2013 New York

    BCBS Cherry Rye
     
    #110 BltByKrmn, Jan 19, 2016
  11. rhartogsq

    rhartogsq Initiate (0) Jun 18, 2010 Virginia

    The first two are probably not whales, maybe on the fringes if anything, but the way people in my area go nuts over the stuff, I'll count it.

    SMS
    Green
    DL
    Port Damon (my bottle was infected a couple years ago)
     
    #111 rhartogsq, Jan 19, 2016
  12. jojo2112

    jojo2112 Pundit (882) Sep 24, 2014 Pennsylvania

    Probably not a whale to some, but where I live it is - Pliny the Elder. Nice DIPA, but so many better options.
     
    #112 jojo2112, Jan 19, 2016
  13. JamesStreet

    JamesStreet Pooh-Bah (2,049) May 9, 2013 Louisiana
    Pooh-Bah

    Pliny the Elder
    Mexican Cake
     
    #113 JamesStreet, Jan 19, 2016
  14. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,285) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm hesitant to age anything with a coffee flavor. I've heard coffee flavors tend to disappear quickly during the aging process, and I'm not about that. Coffee in a coffee beer is important to me!
     
    #114 Harrison8, Jan 19, 2016
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  15. RpZhivago

    RpZhivago Initiate (0) Jan 25, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    Thicket
    BA Abraxas - (I love Abraxas and really enjoyed BA Abraxas and would drink it all the time if it were available. But, listing it because I don't think it's worth giving up nearly what it takes to get a bottle.)
     
    #115 RpZhivago, Jan 19, 2016
  16. Littlelotte88

    Littlelotte88 Initiate (0) Mar 6, 2014 Connecticut

    Dark Lord - very soy saucy and sickly sweet, my boyfriend loves it though.
    Black and Blue Flora
    Abraxas
    Grey Monday
     
    #116 Littlelotte88, Jan 19, 2016
  17. WI-Beer-Man

    WI-Beer-Man Maven (1,407) May 29, 2014 Wisconsin

    "Whales":
    Double Barrel Hunahpu - Had it this summer. Was very underwhelming. Barely any barrel. Had it right after Hunahpu and couldn't taste much difference at all.

    Good Morning - bitter coffee on the nose and flavor. Lacked maple in comparison to Mornin Delight. I would trade triple the amount to land another MD that I would even consider offering for GM.

    Non-whales that people trade too much for:
    Maple Bacon Coffee Porter - awful beer. Way too much smoke. Had a tough time finishing (as did the 2 guys I shared with)

    Fuzzy Baby Ducks - decent, but doesn't compare to Trillium or Hill Farmstead IPAs
     
    #117 WI-Beer-Man, Jan 20, 2016
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  18. JoshVelez

    JoshVelez Initiate (0) Mar 23, 2015 New York

    to me KBS is so boozy that it almost just reminds me of straight up bourbon
     
    #118 JoshVelez, Jan 20, 2016
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  19. chrismann65

    chrismann65 Initiate (0) Jan 25, 2015 Texas

    Higher Math DFH. 20th.... This needs to cellar for many Years...! A hotttt.. ! (sour) - cherry mess now ! Wow....
    [​IMG]
     
    #119 chrismann65, Jan 20, 2016
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  20. Dismembered_MC

    Dismembered_MC Initiate (0) Aug 20, 2014 California

    See the Stars
    Duck Duck Gueuze
    Cable Car
    &+
    Appreciation
     
    #120 Dismembered_MC, Jan 20, 2016
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