Orphan Beers

I'm not drinking right now but I have a 12oz Dragon's Milk Stout just standing there in the fridge menacingly.

 

I have a good orphan..from either @TongoRad or @zid

Both know what I'm talking aboot.

 

Oh I love a good mystery!

 

Still have 3-4 bottles of Wolavers Alta Gracia coffee porter on my back fireplace. They were in the bucket after a party, I put them up there and just never moved them. Been at least 8 years of weather on them. Labels are gone and one broke last summer, from the heat? Doubt they will ever be opened by me but they are there , rain , snow , heat and freezing cold.

I have one last can of my favorite beer ever. It’s a bit squishy but not leaking. Guess it was a bad fill but pretty close to full by feel. I emailed the brewery to see if they will ever make the beer or if they had any sitting around for sale. Zero reply. Not a fan of the other beers they make. This is a Brett beer so not worried it will be bad just might be flat and since I don’t want to remember this Nectar of the God’s as a bad beer it sits taunting me every time I open the beer fridge. This beer is

Fear of a Brett planet

If you have any cans I’m interested.

Enjoy

 

I have an old bottle of Victory Red Thunder, not a clue how old it is 10 years maybe?

 

I still have two cans of Rock Art's 'A River Runs Gruit' from a four-pack I bought a few years ago. From their website it's "Brewed with Lavender, Rose-hips, Elderberry, and Chamomile." From my memory it's a mixture of perfume and soap. I opened the second one quite a while after the first, and I don't think the flavors had faded much, but that was probably 18 months ago. Maybe it's time to give it another shot.

 

I've got a can of Departed Soles' Trust Fun Baby that was a gift from Christmas 2018. I didn't really like the first one that I drank, and it just sat there. I keep hoping that someone will drink it when we're entertaining, but it just hasn't happened.

I also have an entire case of Founders Breakfast Stout from 2015 that has gone through a move with me. I remember that there was a local distributor that had these cases on sale for a ridiculous price back then because they were sent an extra pallet by accident. Founders didn't want the beer back, so they discounted it. After drinking the first case I was pretty burnt out on it, and now I'm pretty sure it'd be awful. I just can't imagine pouring out an entire case of beer even if I know I'm not going to drink it. I've been considering offering it up to anyone local that might have an interest for whatever reason, or you know, for science.

 

It holds a fondness in my heart as it was the first alcoholic beverage I drank in High School. Interested to see what it tastes like with 2 years age on it.

 

I usually have a few Sam Adams lingering around from a pack or some Dales Pale Ale. I end up enjoying them in the pool when I do a round up of older items and toss everything into a cooler for a long weekend outside.

 

Good question Jack. I haven't been thrilled with some of Victory's new beers, and I'm not really on-board for the direction they seem to be headed in but I still buy them, and I still appreciate their older beers.

 

Me too.

If the original Prima Pils was still available I would be willing to purchase that beer.

Cheers!

 

So let me ask you then Jack, how upset would you be if Victory went belly up? There was a time when I'd rather have seen Victory survive over Stoudt's or Yards but thinks have changed.

 

Jim, I have been hearing rumors (from a trusted source) that Victory will be brewing some 'traditional' beers in the near future (only available at the brewery/taprooms?). If this change occurs I would be upset if Victory went belly up. I suppose I will learn more things over the next few months.

As you are well aware the 'issue' with Victory is they sold out to Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV) a number of years ago and consequently Victory is a different company today. The ABV 'overlords' want to see some ROI for their purchase and they are chasing 'trends' to maintain & boost sales (e.g., souring beers, hazing up beers, etc.). Unfortunately brands who are deemed to not be increasing sellers are being eliminated from distribution (e.g., Storm King, etc.) and they decided to mess with the recipes of other brands (e.g., Prima Pils to make the beer more 'drinkable' so people will buy more of this brand).

In contrast both Sly Fox and Yards have not sold out and are still owned/managed by the same ownership: Giannopoulos family for Sly Fox and Tom Kehoe for Yards. But even Sly Fox and Yards are businesses and they need to make changes to be responsive to the market. Last year I chatted with Tom Kehoe at the Yards Real Ale Festival and I lamented the fact that Yards ESA is not as available today (e.g., it is no longer packaged) as it was in the past. I asked Tom if ESA will ever make a 'come back'. He smiled at me and said something like "you never know...". Yeah, I do not expect ESA to make a 'come back' since this beer is not hazy, does not contain crazy flavorings, does not contain lactose, does not...

Cheers!

 

How could you possibly change the formula on Prima and make it more drinkable? It was already there, when you lose financial control your at the whim of the majority investors they make stupid decisions based off short term goals. Didn’t like Dirt Wolf either.

 

No! 3 dashes of habanero sauce.

 

But that's not what happened according to this @JackHorzempa post's copy/paste (source?*) story, which says:

Of course, after reading this I thought, "Well, gee, maybe he should have asked me (or any other of the many Prima Pils fans) first..."

* Source seems to be https://thetakeout.com/how-often-do-breweries-change-a-beer-recipe-1833330451 in which he's also quoted as saying “But you can’t keep doing the same thing if it’s not working.”

"Hey! It was still working for me (when I could find it fresh)."

 

I see everything going full circle and it's only been a few decades since craft beer in the U.S. came around. Craft brewers are now making a lot of Pilsners, which many decried early on. A lot of these Pilsners aren't nearly as hoppy as Prima Pils was. Now we're at the stage of the game where they're going to start dumbing down their beers to appeal to the masses. If they're dumbing down Prima Pilss, what will become of those other Pilsners that aren't even close? ... ... ... I remember something that my mother told me in the 70's. She said "Basically all beer tastes the same, it's just a different label", and in 1970's America she was mostly right. I hope we're not headed back there; we fought so hard to get out of that.

 

Thanks for pointing out the spin Jess!

 

What you're seeing and hearing and tasting isn't real.

 

But

(And that's who I blame for changes in and/or discontinuations of my favorite beers...it's the only logical explanation.)