Foolproof Brewing Company Launches in Massachusetts

Good to hear, love raincloud, backyahd not so much. Looking forward to trying barstool. More local stuff available in cans is always a win!

 

That didn't take long.

Raincloud (porter) is a very nice beer. Best porter in cans that I can think of, and it holds its own with other area darlings like Mayflower and Smutty. Definitely seek it out.

Backyahd is inoffensive but completely forgettable.

 

I like their golden the best.

 

I like Raincloud a lot too. I would never put it in the same category as Mayflower though, that porter is absolute amazing.

I agree with your assessment of Backyahd. Have you had Barstool? I liked it. When snowed in this winter I downed a sixer, it was good for what it was. I'm a little bummed that a place in Pawtucket, that's like 4 miles from me costs more than $10 for a sixer. Hence, I don't buy them much. I want to support the local joint, but when Backyahd is more expensive than Torpedo and Torpedo is light years better....well supporting the local guy becomes difficult.

 

Another vote for Raincloud, great porter and in a can! The IPA is super bitter, not my bag of cheese. I had impy back when they released it. It was ok, tons going on. Bought 2 bottles so I will open the other one next year. These guys are good and growing fast. Love new breweries that make their beer easy to get

 

I have yet to try anything from them but I'm super impressed at how quickly they're growing. Good luck to Foolproof and their expansion.

 

Haven't tried Barstool. I don't typically bother with Goldens, except on a very hot summer day at a BBQ or something. I might pick up a 6-er at some point this summer.

As for price - no new brewery is going to be able to beat Sierra Nevada or Sam Adams in price. Just way too much efficiency of scale going on for those big guys. I give Foolproof a lot of credit just for hitting the $10 6-pack price point. Most new breweries nowadays are shoving IPAs and Porters into $6-$8 bombers. I'm officially done playing that game on unproven breweries - starting to be way too much crap out there.

That said, I feel like Foolproof missed their mark to just come out of the gates with mixed 12 packs of cans for $15-$16. They put all that effort in to come up with the funky new packaging (which doesn't even carry properly). Who wouldn't try that sampler at least once?

 

No doubt, mixed 12 pack would have been cool. I agree with you on giving them some props for not putting up $7 bombers. That's a sad trend and I am glad Foolproof has opted out. Hopefully they stay out....I have seen that Grey Sail, the only other RI brewery worth mentioning, is getting into bombers now, boooooo!

 

I didn't care for Backyahd at first either but it has grown on me. Perfect on a hot day in the yard or fishing. Gone through over a case the past week. I am not disagreeing that Raincloud is there best. They have 2 seasonal bombers so far. In the fridge but haven't tried. Hope they come out with a DIPA in the future.

 

Last time I was over there they said that a DIPA would be the next "special" beer after la ferme urbain, but that may have changed since then.

 

Both breweries are putting out their special releases in bomber format - Foolproof's La Ferme Urbain is quite nice.

 

Welll that was a short lived dream. Oh well.....

 

Can you buy sixers right at the brewery?

 

Revery, their imperial Russian stout, was their first bomber, a few months before the farmhouse ale

And Stormfield, Rhode Island breweries can't sell beer. There have been a few efforts to change the law, but . . .

 

I asked the question of "why not can the seasonal releases?" at the Foolproof tour. They wanted to complement their year round beers with special beers in glass bottles that could also age if you wanted to age them. Unrelated, but I also asked about pint cans (tallboys) and they said they have the ability but don't have plans for them yet. So I suspect that once they get their feet wet a bit, you may see Imperial this and Imperial that (IPAs hopefully!) in tall cans.

Now, as far as Grey Sail. They are bottling their super special stuff (thus far it's Imperial Pils, Anniversary Stout, and the new flanders red - Ciel Rouge a Nuit) but canning their year round beers and seasonals. I prefer Grey Sail's beers (and their tour, Nick is awesome, poured me way more beer than I should've gotten, and talked to me for hours) to Foolproof - but both beer companies are doing good things. Also, while it's still around, get Grey Sail's Smoked Porter. It's one of my favorite smoked beers for sure.

 

I grabbed a six-er of the Backyahd the other day. Not bad at all, IMO. It's certainly no Heady or Pliny, but I don't think it's supposed to be either of those. Just a solid, easy drinking brew with a good amounts of hops. I can easily see it becoming a 'boat beer' for the summer on the Cape.

 

Just finished up the Barstool American Golden Ale, solid summer sessioner.

 

Got some barstool too. Saw their Farmhouse Ale and was tempted but seems like their stuff does not fly off shelves so will wait for another day. Anybody taste FH Ale yet?

 

I had it on draft @ Track 84. Good saison. Nothing incredible.