Alpine Nelson 2017

Alpine mentioned the following in a recent FB post.

 

when Alpine came to NJ I was stoked.

i tried Hoppy Birthday, Duet, Pure Hoppiness and WIndows Up.

Nelson is the one out of those with the highest rating so naturally it's the one I want most. That and the fact I've never had Nelson hops and want to try them.

one problem with Alpine is they only have a BestBy date and it sits on the shelf here for a while.

 

Same here, still get plenty of Alpine, including that awful Willy Vanilly, or whatever it's called, but no more Nelson

 

One of the more outrageous results from the Green Flash /Alpine buy out - or whatever it was. They basically ran this iconic/groundbreaking beer into the ground after a relatively brief and limited national bottle dist. I have no idea what happened -- some kind of rights dispute? Somebody forgot to order Nelson hops? There is no acceptable excuse -- somebody f'd up big time.

 

I always preferred the Pure Hoppiness myself, but what came from SD IMO is just better than what's out there now. Check the dating, they're slow movers here.

 

Nelson is a difficult hop to source right now, and for how much they need, the spot market is in no way financially viable. They have a bunch coming in on contracts for the 2018 harvest but haven't been able to get that much in the past two years. Only so many acres in NZ are dedicated to it (I'm sure they've planted more, but it takes time) and the demand has far exceeded the output the past couple years.

 

I think for single hop beers I find Nelson and Centennial to be very similar, I'm sure I couldn't tell them a part blind.

 

To add to what @madtrixter787 stated, the availability of NZ hops in general are hard to source. The main reason is that not much is grown, and the demand by the craft brewers is large. Total acreage in NZ was just under 1100 acres in 2016. That compares to 53,200 acres in the USA.

 

Anyone who thinks post-GF Nelson is worth crying over never had the original, one of the best beers ever made. Those of us who had it on the regular still can't believe what GF did to it. (To be clear, I'm talking about taste, not availability.)

 

Can't be stressed enough. I think some of the GF beers are still very good, but I used to trade for Nelson regularly & when it arrived in MN I ran out & grabbed a draft pour. Wasn't even close to the same beer, & after a couple tries with the same result, fell completely off my radar.

I hope they get it right in 2018!

 

I really don't like anything GF , and I don't think they ruined the Alpine beers , but when I was buying beers from San Diego they were some of the best beers I've ever had. Id buy by the case and mix them up. I'd say what's out there now is just ok vs terrific.

 

Eh, but who wants ok beers? It's 2017.

 

I like a good average beer myself. I have a bunch of Trillium in my fridge right now but I usually reach for a Narragansett after work. If all you drink is super premium, A+, 100%, exceptional world-class beer then you kind take it for granted (in my opinion, of course).

 

To answer the OP's question, SD, LA, and OC are starting to see some distro on draft only recently, but I don't think anyone has seen a bottle in quite some time.

 

Available at 4pm today at Lures Bar & Grille in Crownsville, MD if you want to make the drive! Does this mean it is being made in 2017? Not sure how far away you are in MD...

NELSON Golden Rye India Pale Ale - 7% ABV

SUPER FRESH AND HITTING THE TAPS
STARTING @ 4PM

 

There was no dispute. There was a massive Nelson shortage worldwide as those hops gained major notoriety. What I understand is that the contract Alpine previously held was lost and they were struggling to find a new deal elsewhere. This is not a case of Green Flash ruining anything, just a string of bad luck and lack of supply. The beer has still been made available regularly on draft, but it does not distribute very far from either brewery as supply is still limited. There is a new contract locked in, and it will return. I, for one, don't see any problem with keeping something limited or draft only though. Look at what happened with Sculpin/Grapefruit Sculpin when it became widely available.

 

It's on draft currently at GF Virginia Beach, as I noticed one of my friends recently drank it. Although earlier in the year when I had it there it was still a shell of its past self.