Night Shift Brewing (April 2016)

Quick question, is getting Night Shift beer in Boston hard? I mean like 3 hours lining up hard? And are there any limits per person? Thanks and cheers!

 

I have been to the brewery on weekdays and around open on the weekends and have always walked in and gotten whatever I wanted. They say it gets pretty crowded on weekend afternoons, though. Also, many of the stores in and around Boston get Night Shift stuff, and most seem to post it on their social media when it comes in. Interestingly, I have found it to be cheaper to buy the stuff in stores than the brewery. But now the brewery offers a $1 discount per 4-pack when you buy a case so that makes it a bit closer.

 

Like @BigStein88 said, it is very crowded on weekend afternoons/evenings. It's even worse on beer release days. I try to stay away from the brewery now on weekends and release days just because I can't stand waiting in the line just to get in, unless I can show up right at opening. They are building out a taproom "annex" in the space next to the current taproom which will take capacity up over 400 from the current ~240. That may help things, but NSB keeps getting more and more popular and the beer better and better (good problems to have).
Even Sundays, which used to be the quietest day, are now getting rather insane at the taproom.

As for limits, they usually only have limits on special release beers produced in a minimal quantity, though recently most special releases have had no limits which has caused beer to disappear faster than you would expect. All of their canned beers are produced in quantity and on a rather impressive consistent schedule that keeps them in stock.
While most of the beers make it to stores, not all of it does. Some canned and bottled offerings do tend to stay brewery only.

 

Just to be clear, it's still not gonna be near 3 hours lining up. At least not that I know of.

 

Everybody thanks a lot! Glad I have lots of chances to get their cans. I just love Boston since there are some great offerings like Trillium and Night Shift, and their amazing accessibility.

 

It's never 3 hours in a line hard. On Friday nights and weekends we do get lines but they are usually pretty quick. 20 minutes or so max. As mentioned above, our beer is around the city at various bars and retail shops too. Just in smaller quantities. Enjoy your visit to town!

 

@masterob8 Quick/dumb question: If I'm just picked up my Barrel Society bottle and some cans, is it possible to do that without waiting in a long line on a Saturday?

 

We have just started testing out the concept of "the hall pass". Yep, just like middle school. Basically, you ask the door person for the pass and he lets you in to grab something quickly to go. Working well so far.

 

As long as you don't test out the concept of a "bathroom pass".

 

Excellent, thank you!

 

I can attest to this. I have been going to pick up a case every so often and one time recently, I arrived on a Saturday afternoon and there were about 12 ppl in line to get in. The door guy let me right in after I asked if I could just grab cans and the whole process took 2 minutes.

 

I walk into the store and buy it everyday, never waited. all over the place on the northshore

 

4/15 morph is crazy good. I think it's the best one I've had since I started keeping track(6/3/15). Nice juiciness. It honestly reminds me of like Alter Ego or Green with more bitterness.

 

why wouldn't you buy enough so you don't have to go to the store every day that seems wild.

 

Well i honestly go probably 3 times a week, but different stores have different delivery days so i hit them on delivery day and get the freshiessss

 

New beer on tap to kick off this awesome weekend - One Hop Topaz - on draft for pours and growlers.

 

that new one hop looks mighty tasty. might have to stop in for a growler fill tomorrow. the citra one was bangin'.

 

Citra is great! And, is it just me, or is this the best batch of Whirlpool ever? Can't believe this beer is 4.5%.

 

Whats the growler glass costs at NS? I have only gone toNS for pours.

 

Ranges from $10-$12 for 32oz fills to $15-$18 for 64oz fills. Growlers are a $5 deposit. We take them back and you can swap between sizes too.

 

Does Second Breakfast see distro or is it brewery-only? Unfortunately not going to make it to the taproom during this very short visit, but my hotel is near Charles St. Liquors. Their Beermenus isn't very up to date though...

 

It was a taproom only release.

 

If you aren't going to can the Mosaic One Hop then what other one are you going to can?

 

yea i dont get not canning Mosaic. I can see not canning all of the different variants, but i feel like it makes sense to can the more well known hops.

 

Completely agree - this batch is on point! I was pumped that one of my regular bottle shops got an extra shipment of it yesterday - can't wait to start the new 4-pack.

 

Maybe they didn't have enough Mosaic for a full canning run

 

Just wanted to give big kudos to @masterob8 and the crew at Night Shift for instituting the "hall pass" at the brewery. There was a line of 20 to 25 people waiting Saturday night, and while I normally wouldn't mind waiting so I could grab a pint or two, I had the wife and four-month-old son in the car.

Even being super crowded inside, I was able to get in and out with a mixed case, couple bottles of Second Breakfast and a bottle of the Barrel'd Sun collaboration in probably just more than five minutes. It would have been even quicker if I knew the appropriate place to go when I was inside (FYI, the folks behind the bar directed me to the little swag setup with computer monitor that is off to the left if you're facing the bar).

I love that the "hall pass" exists -- had I not known, I would have had to keep driving. Thanks for creating that creative solution! (And I'm selfishly totally OK if you guys don't want to advertise it beyond this BA thread...)

 

The Mosaic and recent Topaz batches were both smaller 14bbl runs. At that small of a volume it's not cost effective to can. We are hoping to put out one batch of canned One Hop per month going forward. Although its looking like we will miss May in favor or doing a canned Presidential DIPA. The next One Hop canned batch is Idaho 7 and will be packaged around the first week of June.

Side note: nearly all the Mosaic we have contracted for is allocated to Whirlpool. So not sure we will be able to do canned runs of One Hop Mosaic this year.

Awesome to hear it worked out great for you! For now, it's a BA secret.

 

@masterob8 Any OHTT Citra cans left at the brewery? That one was delicious!

 

Snagged a 4 pack of the 87 at CBC Fenway last night. First time seeing it in the wild! Smells like summer peaches. Probably won't last very long. Great store and really nice owners as well.

 

OHTT Citra is all gone at the brewery. Only lasted a few days in cans and a few more after that on draft. We will very likely do another batch of it.

 

I have been really enjoying the Whirlpool lately. It's such a great beer at a reasonable ABV. The tall boys are on point and the availability in Braintree has been great lately. Shout out to Curtis Liquors.

 

Just chiming in to agree that the 4/15 batch of Morph is absolutely killer. Keep up the great work @masterob8 and the NSB crew!

 

thanks for the response! really loving the OHTT beers canned or not! Also very excited about canned Pres. DIPA!!

 

Tentatively called Roosevelt it will be heavily hopped with Citra, Ella, Motueka, and Topaz. Should be delicious. Release date not set just yet.

 

Have to agree with what several others have stated - this recent batch of Morph is fantastic. Best I've had yet.

 

The OHTT Topaz was....different.

 

The OHTT citra was fantastic.was able to get a case at @nightshift. Feed me these all summer long! Crisp and clean with perfect hop haze.6% crushers.now I am thirsty.cheers!