Firestone Walker

I still have seen Double Jack a lot at some stores recently. I've seen a lot of VX too. Hell, I picked up a 2011 Parabola less than a month ago. Some stores in Boston proper are odd that way.

 

With all the FW threads going on (for specialty & regular offerings) it is plain to see the distribution strategy to MA is haphazard at best. I hope the distro can be normalized for ALL offerings, the specialties & the regulars. Easy to see that FW's current strategy is annoying everyone here.

 

Personally? I would rather the odd schedule if it means fresher product. Double Jack and Union Jack are just so damn good when fresh.

 

I mentioned this on the Union Jack thread too, but the Yard House "house beers" are brewed by FW. The IPA was very tasty, but may have been a little closer to Nectar than Union Jack in terms of comparison. Others had mentioned that they wanted to see some of the other regular FW line-up locally since all we see are the big bottles and the occasional UJ allotment. This may be an alternative if you aren't opposed to the Yard House.

Funny that I haven't seen much in the way of convo on the new Fenway location in the BA forum. Yes, it is a chain and not all that big of a craft destination for a town that has much better alternatives, but it still has a pretty impressive amount of brews to offer in an immediate area (Fenway/Kenmore) that only has Lower Depths as legit craft competition. I wasn't overly impressed with the place, but it will be more than suitable for pre-gaming for the Sox or shows at HOB.

 

I liked the Mac 'n cheese and the decor. Tap list was extensive but they have only like 2 rotating tap lines out of 125 taps or whatever (printed on the menu anyways). Contrast that with Sunset Grill/Mead Hall, where a good majority of the lines are rotating (assuming people drink the beer). There are some decent options (Wachusett Larry, West Coast IPA, etc.), but everything is of the readily-available year-round stock.

 

I haven't been to the Fenway location but I do hit the Dedham one regularly. I don't know why anyone would not like Yard House - the food is a huge step over your typical chain fare, and some of it is downright excellent. 100 taps, mostly well-taken care of, and more than enough variety to suit every beer geek out there. The only downsides I guess are they only really vary up 10-20% of the taps, and you're not going to find nanobreweries or small batch beers there. Beer prices are generally reasonable though, and they will actually pour you pints of things like Smutty Big A for a good price, which has become exceedingly rare in the Boston craft bar 10-11oz tulip for $7 scene.

The house beers aren't bad at all - didn't realize they were FW, though the Reserve Porter is a permanent tap at Dedham, so I guess that makes sense. Long way to ship house beers though...

 

Does the Yard House still charge for samples? I visited the Dedham location last year and was charged $1 for a 1oz taste. Kinda ridiculous.

 

Eh, I'd say Cornwall's offers legit craft competition as well, but they don't stock as many choices as Lower Depths.

 

Lukes has some union jack 3/8/12. Just picked up a 6