Ithaca Flower Power Appreciation

When I got hooked on Pretty Things Meadowlark this past August, I was sad to see it go. Try it when it comes back next summer. I had FP on tap first, but found sixers for 10.99 locally, and have it in my rotation.

 

I LOVE Flower Power. One of, if not my favorite IPA's.

 

I enjoy Smutty Nose' Finest Kind more than FP.

 

I would love to taste a side by side with fresh Flower Power, Meadowlark, White Rajah, Columbus, Shotgun Willy, Finest Kind, and Lunch. I bet Flower Power would win it, such a great beer, so full of hoppy goodness framed in such a simple and delicious malt bill.

 

I'd appreciate it a lot more if I could find it again. Despite the opening on the new facility, it still seems in short supply (i.e., nonexistent) in Central Jersey, and most retailers just give a deer in the highlights reaction to any questions about it.

When a new chain store, Bottle King, opened nearby I was happy to see a small stack of another Ithaca beer (maybe their Apricot thing?) on the floor and thought that might be a good sign. Checked the dates on those bottles, notched as "Best Before" October- - the month before this store opened.

Saw a rep from Ritchie & Page (local AB house that distributes Ithaca in the area) in the same store my next visit, and inquired about Flower Power. He knew nothing about it ("...I'm just the POS/display guy...") and just shrugged his shoulders and did a little eye roll when I pointed out the already past-dated Ithaca product.

Similar lack of FP in the retailers north of me, supplied by Ithaca wholesaler, High Grade (another AB house).

 

Horrible beer!

Please stop buying It!

 

I wanted to try FP many times but I have sooo much beer at home. You can get it pretty easily in Pittsburgh. How does it stack up to Zombie Dust or Arctic Panzer Wolf? Heady? As in the finer beers that you just cannot get.

 

I love FFF beers and I would take a Flower Power over ZD and APW (barely). I like Heady better.

 

Wow! I love beer comparisons for reviews and that was an awesome one! Thanks fredmugs. I may have to go buy that case of FP I saw the other night!

 

I haven't seen it in Western MA in months, but was buying it all throughout the winter. Hope that extra production makes it's way locally again. It is a fantastic beer.

 

When I lived in Ithaca, I had my first Flower Power at a graduation party in 2004. My Dad was at the party and, without any solicitation, he remarked on the high quality of the beer. He drank fizzy yellow macro stuff his whole life, so it was a really surprising comment. I also loved the beer but was only able to drink it a few more times after that because I moved out of Ithaca to a spot where it is not distributed. Still, its a fond memory.

 

I love FP too, but I'm getting tired of chasing it all over the metro Boston area to get a 6 pack - it comes in dribs and drabs and sells out within a day wherever it lands, usually with a a 1 6 pack limit per customer.

OTOH, this beer falls off a cliff after 2 months, so at least what we get here is super fresh and doesn't languish in some distro's warehouse or retailer's unrefrigerated shelf.

 

I get mine from Halftime

 

Right now it's my favorite, I agree with the group on how hard it is to find- it gets old calling around to find it in the area, but totally worth it!! I actually called Ithaca to get a better understanding on the limited amount. Over the summer they moved, built a new brewery, expanded, and all that brought production down to nearly 20%. They have moved and should be bringing up their production, if that hasn't happened yet. I'm only 4 hours from the brewery and have a hard time getting this stuff, can only imagine how the Southern States and Western Part of the country see this stuff in stores. If you haven't tried it, go ahead and have one, you'll love it... just make sure it's fresh!!

 

High Grade covers my territory and I have bought FP from two separate batches (early Oct and mid Nov) since their new facility has opened. My purchases were in Morris and Warren counties, respectively.

 

I LOVE Flower Power. If you want to check out more great IPA's on the East Coast, check out Heady Topper by The Alchemist, Society and Solitude by Hill Farmstead...they also have other great IPA's, and pretty much any IPA from Lawson's Finest Liquids..haven't had an IPA I didn't like from them. All those beers can be found in Vermont.

 

Being an East Coaster, FP is high on my list along with Heavy Seas Loose Cannon. Compares very favorably.