Heading out for vacation soon and would love to hit the beach with some McNeill's, in addition to my cache of CBC cans.... They say the cans of Dead Horse are available in MA, has anyone sen them around? Thanks!
Never saw McNeills in a can, though they may be canning. For my part I love the beer at the brewery but pass on the bottles which tend to be horrible.
So far they have canned Dead Horse IPA and Firehouse Amber. Craft Brewers Guild is distributing in MA. It always tastes best at the Pub that's for sure!
They are definitely canning. Their Facebook page shows stacks of the Dead Horse IPA and a label approval for Firehouse Amber. I've heard others report problems with the bottles, but have never had an issue in my (limited) experience. They closed their production brewery in North Brattleboro last summer and are now brewing exclusively at the brewpub at 90 Eliot Street. Ray had some serious health problems that he's still recovering from, so the larger facility started to put them in red ink. They consolidated at the brewpub and are back up and running now. http://www.vtbeer.org/2014/01/23/mcneills-brewery-receives-federal-approval-to-resume-brewing/
McNeil's is also brewing at Wachusett's Brewery. ->http://www.reformer.com/letterstotheeditor/ci_26197922/letter-box
Thanks, that makes sense. Thinking about it a little more, I guess they wouldn't have space for canning in the tiny brewpub space.
Ray's a good friend and I'm a Bratt resident; I confess, quite contentedly, that I am at the Elliot Street brewpub regularly. "Dead Horse in a can" is alive and well, with distribution quickly growing. Wachusett is brewing and canning it at his behest, since - as pointed out - he doesn't have the capacity at the original Brattleboro brewhouse. Firehouse Amber is in the works. I, personally, am quite pleased at the return of Duck's Breath Bitter a month or more ago; having been a straight-up ESB devotee, I have now switched over to the prodigal, at least for 90% of the coveted time I spend there at the taps. As they say "the Quack is back!"
I have fond memories of McNeill's going back to the early 90's. Glad to hear theyre back in action but sad to hear Ray hasnt been well. He's always been such a character and though he wouldnt have clue one who I am, we had a bunch of fun, beer fueled conversations.
I agree Ray is a great character. I've only met him once, at the brewpub several years ago, but he was very friendly and willing to talk about beer and bicycling. This article (from April 2012) outlines his health scare. For the part about McNeill's, scroll down and start just above the photo of Ray: http://theaposition.com/tombedell/beer-on-tap/3052/after-the-floods-beer-rises
