Gun Hill Brewing Co.

Any idea if we will see BA VoL again? Seemed to indicate no last time I was up there.

 

Truth!

Cheers!

 

I don't disagree with anything you say at all - I'm just looking at it from one beer drinker's perspective. I don't like the FOMO, ticker, overhopped/BA/sours whatever trends sweeping through the local industry lately. I like some of those things but I also like to drink a ton of other styles - even wheat beers! I've seen a number of breweries I liked initially change directions and chase the neckbeard/trader crowd - Finaback, SingleCut are 2 near me that have gone in this direction. Some of use do appreciate solid beers and don't want to wait in line for it. Rant over/carry on.

 

FWIW I am a similar beer drinker.

I sometimes wonder if I am not the sort of customer that 'new school' local breweries are looking to cater to. An example for me is Tired Hands (Ardmore, PA) where the owner (Jean Broillet) is making HUGE coin selling beer to "the neckbeard/trader crowd" who are willing to wait hours in line for his weekly can releases (Wednesdays at 4:00 pm).

I am beginning to think that the contemporary craft beer scene is a 'Brave New World'!?!

Cheers!

 

Yes I feel a big disconnect personally from alot of people on this site - I would never wait in line for beer, run around town to get maybe 2 cans of something, etc. Seems to be a large population of beer lovers on this site is more than happy to do those things and since there's alot of money in that, these "bespoke" new breweries are chasing that money. I'm happy drinking a great kolsch, porter, cream ale anyday as well as an IPA. So locally I frequent Barrier, Greenport (when I can find it), Newburgh and Peekskill for the most part.

 

If I remember correctly, they were selling bottles of the Rise Up Rye this weekend. That's the beer they with the Hamilton musical affiliation.

 

If you have any compadres who can mule you some beer from PA I would recommend that you obtain the Straub Sunshine Variety pack which should be released either now or in a few weeks. I have already ordered a 12-pack from my local beer store and hope to buy it soon.

Cheers!



http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-539.305745/#post-3788974

 

I'm kind of caught in the middle on this. Love the classic styles and drink them plenty, but also enjoy the experimental stuff, the wild ales, the BA beers, etc.

I do recognize that BA just adds fuel to the fire (aka hype, truck chasing, etc) because a good majority of users are geeky or obsessive about their beer, the ticking, the status and things like that. That, of course, doesn't represent 95% (I'm hazarding a guess here) of beer drinkers, even those that enjoy craft beer.

Long story short, ignorance is bliss. If you access this site, in some ways you're doing yourself a disservice because you're entering the world that turns you off so much.

To relate this to Gun Hill, I personally think plenty of breweries can pay the bills with loyal drinkers that visit the site each day, plus a solid core lineup, plus, in NYC especially, sending kegs into the wild. I absolutely think Gun Hill could have continued as is. BUT, it seems pretty obvious they have investors to account to and those folks want in on the big bucks, the growth, the quick sales that come with a one-day release a la Other Half.

This is just speculation but seems about right.

 

I think I've seen you post that before - very jealous - I'd love to buy those 12 packs.

 

I agree that the vast majority of beer drinkers are like you say here. They go into their local beer stores and pick up Sam Adams Boston Lager, Bud Light, etc.

Then you have the 'new school' breweries that have opened up in the past few years and the situation is much different. I suppose you could argue that things are all good here as long as you have sufficient funds and time to fully participate in this scene as well. The cheapest canned beers that Tired Hands sells is HopHands. They price this at $14 a 4-pack of 16 ounce cans ($84 a case) and typically most buyers purchase at the case level. The other beers they produce sell for $96 - 132 per case. If you want to fully account for 'cost' here you should also factor in 1-3 hours of waiting time.

Do you spend 100 bucks for a case of beer?

Cheers!

 

I don't buy by the case, period. haha. Just kind of reinforces my point about me being caught between both worlds. I spend far too much money on beer, especially on 750s and other formats that aren't favorable (or sensible) to the wallet. And I'm aware this sort of behavior isn't reflective of beer drinkers as a whole. Many, many more are more interested in bang for the buck.

Hell, my father makes a lot more money than me and when we go to bars together he's looking for the happy hour deal while I'm paying for $8 for a 4-ounce pour. Haha.

I do hope that Gun Hill finds a formula that allows them to brew a good core lineup and still appease the beer geeks. Best of both worlds. One thing I find a little bit funny is that they may be thinking they can develop some sort of phenomenon like Other Half and have people lining up in the BX for their beers. That would be an interesting development. Might even be good for the surrounding area.

I'm willing to bet 99% of the NYC posters that show up in the OH/Grimm threads have never stepped a foot in the Bronx other than a Yankees game and certainly not been to Gun Hill Road. Haha.

 

Just saying a happy regular steady customer base would be nice in theory but the FOMO ticker world of beer we live in now is keeping the lights on for some places and helping them be successful and expand. It's a fact that IPAs make up the largest part of beer sales. I'm not a fan of these expensive dry-hopped sours either but that's what the customers want so if u don't read market trends u will get left behind. Pretty much Business/Marketing 101.

You can shake your fist while holding your Kolsch in the other hand and tell the neckbeards to get off your lawn all u want but unfortunately they are multiplying.

 

Will this be in the Lehigh Valley? (I would think so, but would love this pack and want to get some)

 

To be perfectly honest I do not know. Straub is 'best' distributed in Western PA and Eastern Ohio but I do see it at select places in Southeastern PA.

Oh, wait, the best person to help you out here is Michael (@TongoRad). He has a 'source' for this beer from the Lehigh Valley.

Cheers!

 

Hey, Jack and @schteve . My Straub 'supplier' is my sister in Bethlehem; and Tanczos seems to be the best place in the area to get their beers. It's not too far from Rt 22, or from the NJ border.

This is a weird thread for me. By Dec. of 2015 Greenpoint was on my shitlist due to numerous diacetyl experiences, and Gun Hill was a solid reliable purchase. Style over substance seems to be the order of the day .

 

Thanks for the tip, @TongoRad ! And that's a bummer about Greenpoint. Was it all beers, including the Kelso line? I haven't had them in a while but I quite enjoyed a couple of them, like the Pilsner.