Jester King to release Atrial Rubicite

I'm thinking done by 1-2pm. The line is in the parking lot next to the trees for the shade

 

Well... from JK's position why is this a problem? They are rapidly selling out one of their products and bringing people to the brewery who A. Love their beer or B. Who have never had it but now get to try it. I understand it's not a popular opinion but from the brewery's perspective it's great.

If they want more people to taste the beer the simple solution is to just release their small batch fruited sours on tap. I guarantee Atrial lasts weeks longer if it's draft only.

 

Go to JK any other weekend and you will have a blast. I was there last weekend and the tap list was INSANE and obviously hanging outside on their beautiful campus is great. "Hating" beer because of stuff like this is misguided, sure it's a hassle to drink the "rare" stuff but so much of the non-rare stuff is just as amazing.

 

So much this. Early running for SW post of the year. Cheers bud I got your AR next I'm down

 

I was just talking about the FT bottle shares with John yesterday. It was never about the beers, but what I missed about them was getting to see the people that I had become friends with from all over the state over the years. I can't wait until there is another one.

 

Lol, f'in John. First one I thought of when I read about the return. I'm gonna be pretty bummed if I can't make it. I wonder if Scott will reconsider after the first one. With all the new BA's and overall number of people into craft beer I have a feeling it will be bigger than anything any of us have seen by a large margin.

Getting sidetracked, will wait to hear more details and start a new thread.

 

So will it be safe to come to JK this evening? Will all the Atrial madness be over?

I used to chase these releases, but I sure am glad that I'm not dealing with that madness anymore. I like enjoying JK when its a relaxing atmosphere. It's a bummer that I won't get to try B5 Atrial, but luckily there are a lot of other great beers on tap.

I would love for JK to release a beer like AR, AL, etc. for on-premise only, but I'm sure that would still be madness and some of you would still be find a way around the system.

ISO AR, FT: $16 worth of JK stickers

 

If I remember correctly JK ran through quite a few of their fruits for on-premise only at their outdoor station last year. Maybe they will do the same and we won't have to fight 90 year old ladies for a pour.

Btw, all you whining and complaining about mules and JK limits.. It's just beer. Relax. Way more pressing things in life to stress over. Some of you need that nice green stuff that's kin to hops.

 

I find it more humorous than anything else at this point. People bringing grandparents (one can assume)?

I don't think any beer is worth waiting an hour in line for. So, I just avoid the chaos. All so they can just trade a bottle to get some "whalez" that will likely taste the exact same as some shelf beer.

 

I for one, am skipping this year's Atrial Rubicite release because it is not worth my time and money. I do fault Jester King and their flawed decision to brew a smaller batch of their most popular fruited sours this year. The reason there are long lines is because this beer is traded for Mexican Cakes and Black Tuesdays. I had no problem getting this beer last year and I was able to enjoy it. It was stated they are producing more Fen Tao this year because of its popularity last year. I personally don't consider Fen Tao that great and I had plenty on draft at the brewery and at Untapped last year. I suppose I'll visit the brewery again when it is worth my time, effort, and a more pleasant situation.

 

Where's Ja Rule when you need him? I really need someone to tell me how I should feel about all of this.

 

Wow, I commend you for your honesty but get ready for the hate.

 

I LOVE JESTER KING. They are by far my favorite brewery, and my local brewery at that. So before everyone starts calling me out. I am there every weekend, just to relax and drink their beer. So anyway.

I just got back from JK, what a mess. I don't care about the lines, really, I got to talk to awesome folks and drink some beers while enjoying some nice Texas heat. But there has to be a better way. A line almost back to Fitzhugh, and you got two people on iPads for sales.....You sold 1500 bottles on a workday, what did you think was going to happen on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Cmon guys, cash only line would help speed things up.

Heck, set up another tent with two more people on iPads, and that DOUBLES your speed. And don't tell me they cant afford it, they could get two folks to swipe cards and hand bottles for a couple bottles of Atrial/day.

Again, i dont want to come off as someone complaining. I love JK, I will go to as many of their releases as i can, but im also pretty sure they could do these releases a little better. And that is what im trying to do here. Not to bash Jester King at all, just as a craft beer fan and local, i want to see these releases get better.

 

We need some more mule pictures.

 

SO BABY GURL PUT IT ON ME YEAH YEAAAAAAAAAAH

 

More like Ja Mule

 

Less than 400 bottles left as of 20 minutes. Pours still available in tasting room, but outdoor station kicked at like 1:30.

Kudos to the crew for really working to enforce the limits...definitely a thankless job. Wish the line moved quicker, especially with how fucking hot it was, but we can't have it both ways.

Beer was fantastic too, and I'll still consider it their "flagship" sour. More sour than what I remembered from last year.

Despite the craziness, look forward to future releases.

 

180 bottles of Atrial Rubicite remain. Draught is sold out.

 

I don't cave to the opinions of noisy sheep, follow the idiot lemmings over the cliff, or fall for the false promotions of beer hustlers.

There are a lot of good alternatives to Atrial Rubicite available right now. Avery recently came out with a nice bold Raspberry Sour. Del Borgo Rubus con Lamponi is one of my favorites and very comparable to Atrial. Of course there are plenty of Lambics out there people don't make a fuss over but are quite good.

My all time favorite sour is Cuvée Des Jacobins Rouge which I like better than what is offered by Jester King currently. The nice thing is that Jacobins is fairly easy to find. Being rare and limited does not make it better.
It's about what I like.

Of course any opinion that threatens the trade value of a beer over hyped by the beer hustlers is going to get hate.

I can't wait for Cascade to start shipping to Texas. More good choices.
I drink the beer I like.

 

I've been going to Jester King pretty much since they opened, and today was the craziest thing I've seen out there (even worse than that one terrible Funk & Sour fiasco).

Other than brewing larger batches (and look, that horse has been beaten to death at this point, so I'm not even going to touch it) I dont know there is too much JK can do about it. I do think having more ipads and a cash only line, or possibly requiring cash for all purchases, would be a smart idea on big release weekends, just to speed things up a bit, but that might reduce the 2 hour line to only an hour, not completely solve the problem.

But the reality is that beer has changed A LOT in the past 2 years. How many of the people there yesterday and today showed up, and hauled mules out with them, SOLELY to be able to trade their bottles away? 50%? More? Hard to know, but as so much of craft beer has become about trading, it makes it incalculably more difficult for people who just want to actually drink the beer and get bottles for their own consumption. I spent an hour next to 2 guys whose entire conversation was scheming what they were going to try to trade their bottles for. #newmoney is funny, but its also real - LOTS of people are into craft now, just for the trading. And there is absolutely nothing breweries can do about that.

And yeah, this is starting to sound a little like a grumpy old man, get off my lawn style rant, but I'm a grumpy old man, so I guess that's acceptable.

I thought Jester King did the best they could in response to the conditions this weekend, and again would like to thank their extremely hard working staff for their kindness and courtesy during a couple of crazy days.

And for those who like photos, here is what that line looked like, about 20 minutes before they even opened today: