Alpine Brewing Thread

Eventually it will die down as people will forget what Alpine Alpine Nelson tasted like. The recent batch of GF Nelson is good, closest attempt yet, but still it isn't what it was in Alpine.

None of the Alpine beers coming out of Green Flash taste the same as they did when they were made in Alpine and I would honestly be surprised if they ever did taste the same. It is just an unfortunate situation that people are going to have to accept. The locals that have had gallons and gallons of Alpine beers over the years and know what Alpine should taste like are a very small subset of the new distribution channel. From a business standpoint, the beers don't need to be Alpine great in the new markets because quite frankly a majority of the market doesn't know how true Alpine tastes.

Personally I'm not giving up yet. Yeah, for the time being we've lost OG Nelson, perhaps HB and Duet (haven't tried recent bottles, but the versions I've had in the GF tasting room have been subpar to true Alpine), but honestly, Alpine's bottling line still works. So we'll see what happens. I'm hoping for small batch bottling, more "rarer" batches being made, such as more bad boys, baby faces, new milleniums, and the return of red card. And of course, NEW beers too.

There is still hope....and hope that the cheese platter/brewers plate will make a come back and the fried pickles will drop below $9.

 

This will be the only silver lining to the GF/Alpine relationship

 

The GF bottles is a temporary thing and won't happen on the next batch.

 

Can anyone explain why Santa Barbara suddenly got Nelson/Hoppy Birthday/Duet this week? Sorry if it's already been explained.

 

GF producing and distributing.

 

whatcha mean?

 

Thanks. So does that mean anyone with GF distro is going to start getting those beers?

 

Yes. People on the east coast already have alpine bottles* in shops there.
Its funny to hear people's comments on them. Some like them, and most hate them..
hell, ship all that green flush bottles somewhere else, I'll take the one offs at the pub instead.

 

I think many. It seems it started in the east coast from their Virginia beach facility but I could be wrong.

p.s. love your husky! have one as well.

 

That facility isn't open yet. They are from out here.

 

Anyone know if I can still get the real Alpine Nelson growler fills at the brewery? Or is it 100% greenflash Nelson now?

 

Alpine hasn't released Nelson brewed up the hill since early September and there are no indications they will be brewing it for the foreseeable future. Whatever is on tap or in bottles is GF Nelson.

FWIW, it's the best batch of Nelson they've done, but going up the hill just to fill growlers doesn't serve a purpose as the same beer is available at Green Flash. You can still go up the hill to eat at the pub and enjoy other beers brewed at Alpine, but there's only one Nelson at this point.

 

Wow..that's sad. We were going to head up there tomorrow, guess we will find something else to do.
Thanks for the info.

 

I really didn't want to contribute to this oft-covered territory, but since you, Xul, mentioned that timeline. The Nelson I drank last night at GF tasted different (read: less satisfying) from what I got in my growler and in bottle at Alpine four weeks and a day earlier. The bottle was the "brewed in Alpine, CA/no golden rye India Pale Ale" label, fwiw. Maybe it's all in my head.

 

That is a serious bummer that there is no more alpine-brewed nelson. And while I do agree that this is the best batch of GF nelson yet..my bitterness remains. Do I go to GF to buy growlers or boycott on principle? It's like hitting up your succubus ex girlfriend for a bootycall after you see she lost weight in her fb photos...it's good, but just doesn't feel right.

 

That bottle was packaged by Alpine. There are still differences, I would never argue that it tastes identical, but I've had multiple bottles from the recent batch and it's the best batch GF has done, and better than some Alpine batches I can remember (but certainly short of Alpine's best). It's entirely possible that kegs taste different and/or there's bottle variation, but I think there's also a degree of mental bias that goes into how people are perceiving Nelson at this point.

 

Anyone seen Nelson bottles in LA?

 

I saw them pop up today at a couple places. Check out your LA Instagram feeds.

 

My IG game must not be as strong...only saw Hoppy Bday and Duet.

 

Haha, you're correct! I thought I saw Nelson, but I stand corrected as I have only seen Duet and HB also.

 

grabbed a bottle of Hoppy Birthday from Lazy Acres in Long Beach. I have to admit...it was pretty decent. It's been a while since I've had Hoppy Birthday, so I can't compare it with previous batches. But the bottle I had was good, and I'd probably buy it again

 

and why is it sad? everyone in here is now singing praises to the batches as of late. now you just saved yourself a car ride which is awesome!

WHY DO I KEEP COMING IN THIS THREAD ITS SO ANNOYING.

 

what was the * debacle about? (for someone who doesn't have time to read 39 pages)

 

It's HFS time. It's on the board.

 

Basically, an Alpine employee (not going to name them unless they want to volunteer to be identified) was putting an asterisk on social media when Nelson was from GF rather than Alpine. Apparently, they were told not to and continued to do so, for which they were terminated.

That's the public story, anyway. It's entirely possible there's more to it, but I also wouldn't be surprised if that's really all there was to it. Sucks, because the employee in question had been at Alpine for a long time and was always pleasant to deal with, but things change when you get bought out.

 

Quite a few months back, a person who used to work at Alpine (he usually was the guy you encountered when getting bottles or growlers) put an asterisk after the Nelson when the keg they had for growler fills was actually from Green Flash. Some people found it amusing, many found it helpful, but most certainly the powers that be at GF did not find it amusing.

I don't think that in and of itself was the reason this person was let go, though. But I'm sure he'll correct me if I'm wrong about that. [grin]

Edit: Xul and me with the redundant posts.

 

I am Spartacus.

 

Xul is everyone and no-one. Xul is life.

 

Well as long as there is no Dana.

 

I always wondered how exactly to pronounce his screenname. I always said it as Zul but I wondered if he meant it to be pronounced Zool.

 

Xul is Xul.
HeavySpeedway is Xul*

 

Post of the year.

 

Yes, but if I bump into Sebo he owes me a non-asterisk beer.

 

I tried looking for this info before asking this question, but does anyone know if bottles at Alpine are still Alpine brewed? Thanks.

 

Nelson, Duet, and HB are GF. Everything else should still be Alpine brewed.

 

Only Pure Hoppiness and others excluding Nelson, Duet, Hoppy Birthday.

 

Thanks for the info. I am officially depressed.

 

I know the feeling, man, I spent all of 1996 in mourning after James Hetfield cut his hair. Dark times, my friend, dark times.

 

So the Captain Stout, Willy, Alpine Ale, etc. bottles are still done up on the hill?

 

I've yet to hear anything indicating they're bottled at GF. I suspect the demand for them isn't sufficient to justify a packaging run at GF's scale, not to mention label redesign/printing, but that's purely conjecture on my part.

Honestly though, does anyone outside of the Alpine residents who frequent the bar drink enough of those that they'd even notice a difference?