Other Half Brewing (July 2016)

That could be more an indication of Other Half's popularity in general, though. It's not a stretch to say that OH would sell out of any beer (or at least IPA) they make, so just because OH chooses to make more of one beer doesn't mean that's their most popular beer. It just means OH is popular and people will buy anything they make. The IPA is one of their lower-rated beers on BA, with a sub-4 rating, and in fact there's only one lower-rated IPA (Equinox).

It's definitely not a stretch to say that this is one of their least-popular beers, at least among BAers on this thread and who rated the beer on here. Also, the fact that it lasted past last weekend is another good indication.

 

You may be right (I too don't think the IPA is all that awesome) but I think a lot of us on BA sometimes forget that we are a minority even within the craft drinking population. We tend to want to drink many different things and also like bolder, different flavors. A lot of bars/restaurants and drinkers In general tend to like "safer" beers like a straight-up flagship type IPA. Maybe not the best comparison, but Carton Odub does not sell out as quickly as the variants because it's the "regular" one. It's also why people on BA were surprised to find out that Founders All Day IPA was by far their most popular and best selling beer. What? But KBS and Backwoods Bastard and Imperial Sout are rated so much higher...HERE.

 

Oh yea, I agree with everything you said, especially the part about restaurants and more "mainstream" bars wanting to order straight up beers. I'm not sure that OH's better beers have bigger or bolder flavors, however, just better ones. My favorite OH beers, other than No Layups, are their single-hop IPAs, which are simple and focused yet taste much, much better.

I was mainly to express the idea that "popular" doesn't necessarily equate to "best selling." While that's one interpretation of "popular," I tend to think of popular more as "well-liked" (which also fits with the dictionary definition of "liked or enjoyed by many people"). The other thing to keep in mind is can releases are attended largely by people on BA and other similarly-invested beer people, so in that context it really does appear to be one of the less popular ones. And again, the fact that it failed to sell out over the weekend is another indication that it's less popular, as that rarely happens with any OH cans.

 

I am not sure what white chocolate tastes like in beer, because this is the 1st beer I have had with white chocolate. You mention that it is coming thru more than when it was first released and I agree. At first it was more an aroma of durian fruit, which is both off putting and interesting. The note is get now and this is after cracking another can this evening, is diacetyl. After months of diacetyl tests from working at a brewery I am unfortunately all too familiar with this. If this IS in fact, the white chocolate then I don't like what it is doing to this beer. I think the spicy finish may come from the mango. I got a similar spicy finish from the recent Finback mango IPA, Visible Spectrum.

Cheers!

 

i mean come on man. the cans took forever to sell out (relative to a normal canning run). sure you probably sell the most kegs of it or whatever but are you really trying to make it seem like its your most popular beer?

 

Thanks for the reply. I think I can get the wifey there at that time. Looking forward to it!

 

haha that's totally fair. i'm sure it's not at all...i'm sure you make and sell plenty...understand the correction of it not being the most unpopular. my comment came more in the light of saying it was the most made and sold (which it might be, but would also make it seem like one of the most popular)...regardless its all semantics, glad to see you're seemingly doing well there senor.

 

Am I the only person who actually likes Other Half IPA from time to time?

 

I think it's pretty good.

 

It's good, but I don't think I'll be buying cans anymore. I'd rather have it on tap.

 

Agree with the overlying sentiment here: OH IPA is a good beer, but it's doesn't stand out in any way. It's your basic west coast-style IPA. The only appeal of choosing OH IPA over other major west coast offerings (Torpedo, Union Jack, etc.) is that you know OH IPA is going to be relatively fresh when you buy cans or pick up a growler of it.

 

Agreed, and I'd rather support a local brewery.

 

Is the general consensus that I can stroll in around 11-12 and still pick up a 4 pack of each? This is gonna be my last release for a while so I'm hoping its a breeze.

 

I don't see why not. DMD has some excitement behind it, but I can't see MGN drawing that much more of a crowd.

If Debbie Downer lasted into the afternoon, I don't see how these would sell out faster.

 

Thanks, I'm just wondering how much the 4th of July weekend played a part of it.

 

I don't see how that's a question anyone could possibly know the answer to.

 

As useful as this response is, while nobody can know for sure we can certainly speculate and draw reasonably informed conclusions. The 4th probably played some part in the wait, as the 4th is a popular weekend for people to get out of the city. That being said, a lot of weekends in the summer will be impacted similarly, albeit not to quite the same degree. People generally go on vacations far more during the summer, and with the nicer weather people probably choose to do other things like going to the beach or other outdoor activities. Those factors probably lead to, in general, more manageable waits for summer releases if I had to guess. And, as others have said, this release should be no more hyped than the last one, and if anything less-so, which should help.

Of course, anything could happen and if you really really want some you should get there on the earlier side, but that's always true. The best you can do is make informed guesses.

 

Thanks for joining us on our special episode discussing Other Half IPA-- Does it suck? Does it really suck? Is it unpopular amongst Beer Advocates? Does it even matter? Is there somebody somewhere who cares less about beer who is drinking it-- and likes it? (god forbid)

We may never know...

Back to our regularly scheduled programming: Circular and Endless Bi-weekly Queue Speculation on Centre Street