Founders Fest 2014

At various points throughout the day, they had KBS, Bolt Cutter, Mango Magnifico, Doom, Backwoods Bastard, Double Trouble, and probably a couple more that I missed.

The Bolt Cutter was really good, about a billion times better than the last time I had it on tap, back in the Fall of 2012.

 

oh, and Charles Bradley brought da funk. A whole truckload of the stuff, actually. Jump back, kiss m'self, Got ants in my pants and I wanna dance...

 

So nothing "special"

 

No, nothing really special. For Founders Fest, I think their focus is more on the music than the beer.

 

It is interesting how Founders has become a victim of unreasonable expectations. Any special events seems to be labeled as a "failure" unless there is an ultra rare variant, new barrel aged beer or CBS. I should probably replace the word an with several in the last sentence for the sake of accuracy. KBS and Backwoods on tap in the middle of June is a win for me. Sure Founders has done better but lets not take anything away from what they put out yesterday.

Just a general thought, not directed at @willth, but inspired by his comment. Similar comments are prevalent in Founders threads, peoples expectations always surprise me.

 

I say stuff like that because i expect so much more out of them. They could make anything that they want but choose not to and as a local gr resident I have a ton of options of where to spend my beer money and they havent gotten any of my money since the black party because of their attitude. The black party really left a bad taste in my mouth. They know they have this big party every year that everyone who goes wants to try the big stouts that they use to make and then they come out with 1 special stout(mf donkey) and at least 5 black ipas. Its like hummmm do they really care about their customers or just assume we will keep putting up with their bs? Then comes FF, when someone charges you $30 to get in and drink the normal beer that are on the board all the time with a few exceptions, is a slap in the face. I can understand if you are a die hard fan of a band playing and just happen to get to drink founders too is a great day but as someone who could not care less about random bands it backs up that they are not they brewery that they use to be.

 

The Founders Fest Wheat suited my needs perfectly for most of the day. No long line for thst one.

 

I think that takes it to the extreme a bit, I am not sure that criticism is really fair. I can understand where you come from however.

The biggest truth you hit on is that Founders is not the brewery they used to be. You are absolutely correct. They are bigger and still growing, they have had to reallocate resources which has not allowed them the same flexibility and resources they once had to delivery as many taproom exclusives and barrel offerings. I do not believe this has anything to do with attitude, this is just the reality of a growing business. I will say that the experimentation and limited offerings has stepped up over the past several months as they have got past a few growing pains. They may get back to being the "brewery they once were". I just think saying they have an attitude and aren't doing their best to deliver a quality product and service to locals is unfair and flat out wrong. There just seems to be a disconnect between expectation and reality.

 

^This. Don't confuse Founder's Fest with Black Party. FF is traditionally not known for having a ton of heavy, rare beers. Black Party on the other hand is, and has gotten a bad reputation the last few years for not being up to it's "old" standards. Knock Black Party's tap list if you want, but don't get upset about Founder's Fest as it's a different type of party.

 

Just to add to some conversation, I guess I kind of find it ridiculous that people are complaing about a taplist that has KBS, Bolt Cutter, Mango Magnifico, Doom, Backwoods Bastard, Double Trouble among other things...Then I saw someone say they can just go "spend their money at other places"...Yet NO OTHER BREWERY in town that day had a better tap list..That is just fact..

The problem is, us "nerds" expect ultra .rar barrel aged beers...Most customers want good beer that does not have to be ultra .rar.... If I go to a place that has the beers mentioned above and Im disappointed, the fact is, that is on me..jmo

 

Having been guilty of being disappointed in Founders Fest in the past (2012 when the line for the .rar beers was an hour long with a heavy dose of line cutting taking place) I now wonder what Founders can do to please us "nerds" when it comes to any releases going forward. IMO, Doom and Bolt Cutter were/are fantastic beers that I didn't hesitate to pick up multiples of when given the chance.

To echo many a sentiment on this subject, if it doesn't say 'CBS' on the bottle, it seems like folks will end up with some degree of disappointment. Having been out of Founders distro for a year, it was not a very fun adjustment to not have All Day IPA and Backwoods Bastard available on a semi-regular basis throughout the year.

Seeing all the new mediocre (and worse) stuff hitting shelves now, there is a certain comfort in knowing that you can go into any store around the Midwest and find very solid offerings by Founders that are "better" (term is subjective, and true in a very general sense) than the vast majority of similar offerings on the shelf. The fact that Founders can produce such great beer in large quantities (as well as maintain a very respectable barrel program) is a testament to how great they are as a brewery.

Tl;dr - absence makes the heart grow fonder. Founders should not be taken for granted!

 

Excellent, complaints because all they had was KBS, Doom, Bolt Cutter.........nothing special.

Keep on keeping on BA'ers

 

Anyone cracked a bottle of Bolt Cutter recently? Have one left and I'm debating opening it after hearing how tasty it was at founder's fest.

 

This post should be pinned for all Founders haters.

 

I opened my last bottle 2 days ago at a bottle share. It is now perfect. I had it opening release day at founders. It was a bit sweet and boozy. I hope the same in 2 years for the overly sweet repute.

 

Opened a Sweet Repute last month and it was a beautiful thing. Tasting absolutely perfect to me, but I like sweeter beers too.

 

Touching on what @kzoobrew said as well.

Founders can't make "anything they want to." They are undoubtably in distribution agreements that lockup the almost entirety of their production capabilities. It's easy to be naive when you live within a short distance but recognize that 99.9% of Founders customers aren't even able to enjoy the "bs" you're speaking of. Think of the states that may only receive a case or two of BWB when we are able to enjoy it near year-round.

As for FF, it's always been more about the music and it plainly states it on the poster. No where do they set precedent that they'll be tapping rarer beers like they do at other parties.

I can recognize your frustration and only wish I had appreciated their beers more when I moved to GR 5 years ago. I remember trying Cashew Mountain Brown and others that may never be brewed again. That said, there are easily 20 other local breweries now all producing some pretty quality beers. Perhaps it may be time to find some new favorites?

 

A large disto does not mean that they can't make special beers for us locals. I understand that they have streched themselves thin but they hear their fans crying out for these beers and they make other things. If they cared what people want the last 3 backstage beers would not have been what they made. What about the Michigan only Smoked porter? They used the new test batch system for that so why couldn't they use it to make somthing special for locals.

And as finding new favorites that is taken care of and its called Shorts. Every 2 weeks i can go to my local shop and have something new or I can get in my car and drive the 2.5 hours and have something new. I know you cant compare shorts and founders because of the mi only vs the international distro but founders could take a few pointers from shorts about taking care of their fans.

 

Ignore all the ways that Founders has made attempts to take care of their local customers, there have been several, they have not done what you wanted them to do so they must not care? What an incredibly selfish and self-centered mindset. The Backstage releases, whether you like them or not, fit their intention for their program. They have made several small, experimental batches which have been available only in the taproom, so sorry they are not good enough for you.

Short's is awesome, love Short's. Short's business model is very unique, I dare say you will struggle to find another brewery who operates in the fashion that Short's does. Comparing Founders to Short's is ludicrous. It is not that Short's is "taking care of their locals" more than Founders, its that their business model caters toward your preferences more.

You are ruining some great beer for yourself by creating an imaginary enemy. You do not have to like or approve of every move that Founders makes but their is no need to make unfounded claims about their intentions and dedication to their community.

 

Agree. You'd be hard pressed to find a business anywhere that purposely avoids growing. Short's could be a huge brewery if they ever decided to expand outside of Michigan yet the remain committed to not doing so. Props to them.

Do you not read the labels? "brewed for us?"

Founders released 3-4 taproom exclusive beers a month. I know this because I consistently go once a week. I work there during lunch. I go for the firkins. Am I disappointed that they don't have CBS on tap? Sure. Anyone would be. Name any beer that you'd want them to have and I'm sure there is a logical reason as to why we don't see it on tap. Want to see CBS? Every barrel aged beer they release takes away from the amount of KBS they can release each year. Mackinaw Fudge Donkey Stout not good enough for you? Go to another brewery.

Founders knows there is an exponentially larger market that they haven't served yet that would shutter at the possibility of enjoying an All Day IPA and who are we to blame them for going after it?