Jester King Collabs

Random question but is another batch of Snorkel in the works?

 

Yes, we presently have some in tank.

 

That's messed up.

 

By definition something that is subtle or nuanced is difficult to assess. The beers you make that fall into that category are not met well by the majority of the people that love Jester King.

Yes, that is predictable, but not because of the people assessing the beer, but because of the definition of the result you are trying to achieve with those beers.

 

Clarification: I meant to type "not met as well...." It won't let me edit my post above. I'm not saying that the majority of people think these beers aren't good, because at least from my experience I find them enjoyable to drink, however I realize I don't appreciate them as much as I do some of your other beers.

What I intended to mean was that these subtle and nuanced beers don't provide the "wow" factor that garners the praise and the favorable ratings on BA and such that the fruited sours do.

 

I'll put it to you this way... ever hear an album by a band and completely dislike it, then hear it years later and realize it's incredible? I definitely have. In some cases, without the right context or palate you or I may not be able to fully appreciate certain beers. While all the collabs and styles they represent may not be to your tastes now, they could be later on. It's the reason why diversity is so important. You just never know.

I don't think JK are spreading themselves too thin, it seems like they're choosing to do these cause they want to and they can. I mean, damn... JK even gives you the option of like 2 and 4oz pours! I always get the smallest pour of something new to see if I'll like it, if I do right away, I'll have the server top it off or just come back for more.

 

Oh my god. There isn't a rule that you have to like everything your favorite brewery (or band) makes.

 

@TTUJohn I never said that. Just saying you can't always get what you want and to try and appreciate things for what they are instead of what they are not.

 

I think intersection of species is really great. It takes like fruit. It's my favorite collaboration next to fouderweizen.

 

Oh please. I made the point that Buford's Roadside Wares is the favorite because it has the most acidity, and that more subtle beers are seldom highly regarded on this site (at least as far as the ratings go). There's no denying that bolder/extreme flavored beers rate the highest. Just look at the top 100 beers on this website. They're dominated by double IPAs and imperial stouts. Do I find this frustrating? Sure I do. I'd love to see a great pilsner, like Live Oak's, among the highest rated beers in the world.

 

Imma be that guy. Sorry.

Palate, palette, pallet
The palate is (1) the roof of the mouth, and (2) the sense of taste, and it’s also a fancy word for flavor, especially in writing on food wine.

A palette is the board painters use to hold and mix their colors. By extension, it sometimes denotes the range of colors used in a design or work of art.

Pallet usually refers to a platform used for moving cargo or freight, but the word has several other rare definitions in industry and shipping.

 

The defensive, argumentative attitude you take with enthusiasts spending lots of money on your products is somewhat frustrating. I'm sure it's frustrating on your end to see this kind of topic, too. Wish you could have addressed the trend of collaborations rather than immediately jumping to the conclusion it's all about acidity and "wow" factor. That's a factor, but I think the big picture is more nuanced (ha).

 

To their defense, @jesterkingbeer has kind of always been that way towards "enthusiasts" spending lots of money and it's never really had an effect on sales. People complain about it but they keep waiting in long lines to spend more money. What they are doing is defending the reason they make beers other than fruited sours and sour wild ales, which have a much higher demand. As Jeff said, look through the top 100 and tell me how many pilsners are listed. A world class pilsner will never have the hype, demand and ratings as a BA stout and/or DIPA. If there was a top 100 for best beers you can drink three pints of in a single sitting, it would be a different list than the current top 100.

Edit: I also wanted to add that they often go out of their way to be overly accommodating as well, much more than I would if I were them.

 

Screw you! St. Anger is the best damn album I've ever heard! Pair that with a six pack of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat....

 

My desire is for beer drinkers to realize that just as Cantillon Gueuze, De Ranke Kriek, Jolly Pumpkin La Roja, and Russian River Consecration had an impact on the direction of Jester King, equally important to our formation were beers like Thiriez Extra, De la Senne Taras Boulba, De Ranke XX Bitter, and Dupont Avril. We find dry, bitter beers with interesting yeast character just as exciting as barrel aged sour beers or fruit refermentations, if not more so. According to Yvan de Baets, saison was historically sour or very bitter. We attempt to create beers on both sides of this divide by influencing acidity through time, temperature, fermentation vessels, and hopping rates. If people aren't interested in our beer unless it's sour, that's fine. After all, we don't consider ourselves to be a sour beer maker. We see sourness as a component part of a flavor profile that should be balanced, so as to achieve a drinkable beer.

As far as collaborations, we attempt to make beers that otherwise would not have existed but for the two breweries combining their thought processes, backgrounds, locales, and approaches. Not only are they fun and exciting to us, we typically end up learning a great deal from our collaborative partner and come away inspired. -- Jeff

 

What's your honest opinion on Simple Means? Do you find it drinkable and enjoyable?

 

sorry, meant to say "tasted terrible" and "not a good beer at all"

not everyone who has your beers thinks they are amazing, you
make a lot of very plain unusually boring beers- but that's okay.
you enjoy making them, and many love them, i think most of
your collabs have been misses, but then you have probably
the best beer in TX, the Kollab with Live Oak.
I also love Petit, Foudre, the original Commercial Suicide..

I love Jester King, but not everything you make is as good as you think it is.

 

I think it's quite possibly the best beer we've ever made. I think it shows the range of what mixed culture fermentation can achieve. It's a beer that upon trying a small of, one might conclude is a fine smoked altbier, but after a full glass or bottle reveals nuance that only mixed culture fermentation can achieve.

 

I appreciate your candor Jeff.

I was thinking of the New releases. Haven't tried them all yet, so I'll refrain from flavor generalizations, but the smoked and hopped aspect are quite different from the re-releases (mostly quite sour in someway).

Buford was great, and I'll reiterate very drinkable to me.

What do you think about the beers they may not have the sour pop but that are definitely not hoppy, smoked, or very restrained, such as Snorkel, Biere de Miel, and the Provenances?
They seem to be in the middle ground between traditional sour or hoppy farmhouse ales.