Other Half Brewing Thread (April 2016)

My experience is a somewhat less dramatic version of the above, though maybe I'm forgetting to subtract from the exaggeration contained in every internet description.

The beer is slightly tart, but it's clear that it's more of a funky brett beer than a sour beer. The beer was certainly excited to leave the confines of a bottle and join me outside, but I wouldn't describe it as gushing. I actually enjoy the mouthfeel of the added carbonation.

The peach is hidden beneath the brett funk, but in general I find peach to be a subdued flavor in wild ales and sour beers.

 

Boogie board stuntz and small green everything next? Thats my guess.

 

No, collab with Arizona and something else. I forget what he said.

 

Speaking of AZ Wilderness, they have a solid imperial chocolate milk stout collab with Stillwater floating around the city right now. Really enjoyed the can I had

 

Next up is the collaboration with Finback (a lime kolsch, maybe?) and a collab with Arizona Wilderness.

That said, I'm sure there will be an OH-only beer added at some point before the 23rd and a last minute announcement for a blue Nordic pin-- er, "Cooler" as well.

 

A lime kolsch sounds pretty interesting to me. Lime Green Everything?? Wondering if theyll release any at Finback. It's more relaxed out there

 

They are also set to brew a collab w/ Omnipollo & Tired Hands this week.

 

That's because Finback might as well be at the other end of the island.

 

Extremely disappointed by Stacks on Stacks when I cracked one open Saturday night. Hoping it improves.

 

my experience with it was pretty much the same as it was on draft last time around... and i agree.

 

Not sure what everyone's beef is with Stacks. I think it's tasting great right out of the gates. Very dank and crushable and will only get better over the next couple weeks. FWIW I loved this beer when it was on draft a couple months ago.

 

As much as I love OH, does anyone else agree that rather than brewing something new on a constant basis, it would be better if they focused on honing and fine tuning some of their fan favorites? I am all for exploration and experimentation, but just feel it is too much of a focus lately. Would rather see more AGE, GD, Citra, Nelson, Mosaic, etc. on a consistent basis.

 

I concur. Stacks is one of my favorite Other Half brews so far.

 

Agree completely! Have discussed this with friends at length, but never posted here. Always assumed I would get terrible blow back for it.

 

I see where you're coming from. Personally though, I like the variety.

 

i agree, although i admit i probably buy a lot more OH just out of the desire to try everything they put out

 

As it is, we're typically getting a new beer and an old favorite for each can release.

 

And this is all you need to know. ^^^

OH has no incentive to hone the recipes for their tried-and-true standards because everyone here goes apeshit for the weird collaborations and one-offs. The results are sometimes outstanding but more often you get bottles like the peachwood aged that are exploding all over the place. OH's formula seems to be: churn out something wacky and throw a well-designed label on it and people will line up all morning rain or shine...whether or not the beer is actually any good.

Basically I'm saying I agree they should spend less time dabbling and more time perfecting the beers we know and love.

Just my (undoubtedly unpopular) two cents.

 

AGE and GD are pretty fine tuned as is imo. I suspect their offerings are so plentiful because they do hone and tune various recipes (though under different names so as to avoid pushback).

Also there probably needs to be some consideration for whatever hops they're able to get, and their hop contracts might necessitate playing around with different beers.

And, you can't fault them for doing different things if it's more interesting that way on their end.

The only beer they've put out that's been met with mostly disapproval was Equinox. Other than that, opinions seem varied, and given you can't please everybody, that's a good place to be! In regard to this release, I'm LOVING stacks. If I thought I could drink it all fast enough, I would happily buy it up from all those dissatisfied.

Edit: I also don't think they do anything wacky. Playing around with hop combinations in an IPA is far from wacky, and their labels are actually pretty straight forward and minimalist. There's a tri-state brewer that's much more aggressive in pushing the envelope of wackiness. The only "wacky" IPA they've done is Oat Overdose, which I loved. When they're releasing all these "wacky" single hop beers, they've also been described as interesting and educational. With the exception of Bretty Crocker, their stouts are pretty straightforward, and they don't really seem to do anything THAT exotic with wild ales. Peachwood is pretty tame.

In regard to the beers we enjoy, the staples are pretty much always on in the tap room. Call me a fanboy, but they're consistently making great beer available and improving the delivery. They're limited by space and it's inconvenient for me that the taproom is so popular. They seem to be doing everything right that's within their control.