Hudson Valley Brewery (2018)

Yes. My thoughts exactly.

 

Just saw they have a new release this weekend at noon but no further details. As someone looking to make the trip from Boston(about 3 hours) can I get some advice on what time to show up? I really have no concept of how popular they've gotten other then I've been hearing about them more and more recently.

My girlfriend absolutely loves sours and I drag her along to all my trips to Tree House and Tilted Barn so I'd like to take her somewhere she'll enjoy. Any info would be awesome!

 

Depends on how long you want to wait before versus after they open. I got there at 830 last month and was 175th in line. Took about an hour and 15 minutes to get beer after they opened and I had a lot of people behind me.

This weekends weather is also a million times better than last month so I expect a big crowd. I'm aiming for 730. Get our wrist bands, go to the diner for breakfast and to kill some. Head back over and open a bottle or two to enjoy while thinking of how many more productive things I should be doing on a Saturday morning.

 

So hold up...I'm used to Tree House lines but you're saying get thereover 4 hours before they open at 12? That's pretty crazy. Do they only release cans once or twice a month?

 

Go on a non can release day, relax, get some pours and a few crowlers.

 

They do wristbands so people get there very early because once you get a wristband you can leave the line until time to come back around 11:30.

 

At 3.5 hours before opening I was 175th in line. People will probably start showing up at 5am. Treehouse lines are a day at the beach compared to this . They seem to do cans every 4-6 weeks. Last one was December 9th. Just have to get your wrist band and go get some food.

 

Should be more frequently going forward:

 

That might be the right idea for me.

Ohhhh now I get why people show up so early. If I understand correctly, show up early and get the wrist band. Go find something to do until 11:30. Then does everyone just get in order in line? Do wristbands guarantee you're allotment for later or just your spot in line?

Thanks for helping answer all my questions.

 

Wristband guarantees your spot in line. You get it and can leave and come back and line up. You can't come back at 2pm and expect to get your beer because you got a wristband. I imagine they hand them out assuming every person gets a full allotment and then stop but I'm not positive. A lot of people were maxing out last month.

 

they just did the 12 oz cans two weeks ago or so.. they are ramping things up it seems... i'd expect releases more like every 2 weeks.. they used to kind of try to time it so that EQ would take a week off and hudson would release that week but both have grown and now both will do things same day

 

I'm thinking about going up this Saturday from Northern VA. The last Hudson release I went to there were no wrist bands and I can't seem to find any info about them on their Insta page. When do they start giving out wrist bands? Can I still just stand in line without a wrist band and expect to get a full or near full allotment?

 

Wow I spaced out on that. I even got some cans from 2 weeks ago.

Someone is usually passing wristbands out or you can go up by the front of the line for one. You need one to reserve your spot. As soon as you show up go grab one. The people are super helpful there so it's to find.

 

Can you still get pours and crowlers during can release days?

 

Yep

 

I still don't get the whole numbered wristband thing. Say someone from out of town shows up at 10, thinking they're 2 hours early and in good shape, some dude with a lower number can just pop out of their car at 11:59 and jump in front of them? Seems dumber than the empty chairs at Tired Hands.

 

what's confusing? the guy in his car with the lower number got there earlier, thus why he has a lower number... doesn't change how early you need to get there, just changes the need to actually maintain an actual physical line for the duration.

 

When the line re-forms (at 11:30? 12?), how does that work? Like Southwest Airlines where you just get in the general vicinity of your number and then start checking with the people in front of and behind you?

 

If kids in elementary school can figure out how to line up in alphabetical order I think we can figure out how to line up numerically. This cant be that hard.

 

It actually solves the issue caused by empty chairs.