Other Half Brewing Thread (August 2015)

I love when people compare breweries or say one uses hops better. There are three other elements in beer besides hops. The use of LOCAL water and yeast strains has more impact on beer flavor than the hops.

The only way to truly compare two breweries is to give them the EXACT same water, yeast strain, barely, and hops and have them brew on the exact same equipment.

Until then, it's all Subjective.

 

basically all of these things can be replicated. many breweries treat water to be similar (or nearly the same) as water from other regions. I believe AB does this, as their beer (quality aside) tastes exactly the same and is brewed in various locations across the US. you really think no 2 breweries can "truly" be compared? i mean come on....

yeast strains can also be changed/altered. but use and choice of ingredients is (IMO) what makes some breweries better than others. dont like your yeast strain? change it. it's like saying you can't compare two chefs foods because they don't use the same exact brands of ingredients...choice of ingredients is a very large reason why some chefs and/or brewers are better than others, IMO...

if you're interested:

http://draftmag.com/the-dirt-on-terroir/

"Chimay already operated a thoroughly modern facility, with brewing engineers capable of manipulating the water, adding minerals, subtracting minerals—in theory, providing a formula to perfectly replicate Chimay’s water in the Netherlands rather than hauling it more than 100 miles north."

 

What? Just because someone voices their own opinion on OH, and it contradicts your opinion, doesn't make it right or wrong. You're clearly a huge OH fan. Good for you. Their product speaks for itself. Some people just have different tastes.

I found AGE incredibly boozy and just overpowering with hops and dug Green Diamonds. Please don't try and convince me I'm wrong for not loving AGE. Feel free to insert some "More for me" line.

 

Yes I've read "Water" by Palmer and Kaminski. Trillium and OH aren't not using the same water or trying to replicate each others water.

 

Yeah good thing you quoted where I used the word "subjective".

At no point I said one brewery was better than another. Just specific beers.

 

right, but the fact that they COULD would mean that they can be compared, right? they have the ability to, but choose not to...not really trying to argue with you, just thought it was a bit silly to say breweries cant be compared because of ingredient choice...

either way i'm obviously pumped to have OH around, as it's surely the first time we've had anything that can even be mentioned in a conversation with the other NE/VT stuff...

 

Alright children unless we have a way of getting Trillium, Tree House, or Hill Farmstead on tap in Brooklyn...this argument is f****** stupid.

 

you do know hill farmstead is all over the place in NYC now, right? so uh, yeah.

 

I've tried a bunch of Hill, Tree House, and Trillium. And I like Other Half beers better. Boy am I glad to live in Brooklyn!

IMO, the latest Mosaic was super delicious. Green Streets was OK; tasted more like a Trilllum beer to me with sour milk notes. Must be the Boston water!

Hoping for an AGE/Citra release on Saturday.

 

Trying to make next can release any advice? Park or subway? Etc. thanks in advance. Coming from south jersey.

 

There's a subway stop right there, but I don't think it would be particularly useful from where you're coming from (F and G lines). So far, the McDonald's across the street has been really cool with people parking there during can releases but you can also find street parking somewhere in the vicinity.

The way the past few releases have been going, just show up two or three hours after the doors open. Parking will be much more available and the line will be gone!

 

Not true. OH doesn't condone this. And one time I saw a McDonalds employee in OH to warn folks they'd be towing soon. Not sure if they ever did, but parking may not be safe. And it's definitely frowned on.

 

Fair enough. I figured eventually they would have to deal with it. I just haven't seen anybody get towed yet among all the releases I've been in line for.

 

Yeah there's plenty of parking in the area - just might be a few blocks away.

 

Thanks a lot. That seems to be the advice I've been getting from multiple people. Let's hope the next one isn't the ONE that does sell out.

 

Mosaic is arguably the best beer they do and it lasted through most of the day.

I don't know how to interpret the noon opening and if that affected things at all. For people who like to get this done as quickly as possible, noon might not have been as preferred as a 10 am, but it also makes the event more accessible to people who (understandably so) don't want to be at the brewery so early.

 

I think 1.5 hours is the sweet spot now. Depends on the beer, but 2-3 hours could be a sell out.

 

^^^ Agree. The past two releases I've gotten there before open, waited in line a bit & then parked in the tasting room trying beers for an hour & change. The line dissipates about that time.

 

Thanks to all who have supplied info. Now fingers crossed for a release this weekend or next week.

 

Any word on a can release this weekend? Traveling from Washington DC. Would love to score some OH cans and fill my growlers with small green