Red Atrial

Ran into logistical problems in route to the release and didn't arrive till 7am. I was 188th in line. I was given a dreaded numberless wristband (they gave out 20 of them) and they told us we'd have a shot at bottles if anyone didn't buy their limit. Didn't really expect anyone to pass up the chance to buy their limit for this release but I'd traveled far enough that I wasn't going to miss the chance to drink a glass inside, so we waited.
As the 181st person neared the side entrance they announced that they had 8 bottles left and that the brewer was going to release his 4 personal bottles so that the first 12 people with numberless wristbands could have 1 bottle each (the limit at Jester King).Technically, the first 4 people with numberless wristband's could have complained and they likely would have gotten the original 3 bottle limit but they said they'd be ok with one. So cheers to Wicked Weed and to the considerate people around me in line for not making me leave empty handed! Sounded like they were saying that there was so much fruit in it that 15 barrels yealded closer to 10 barrels of liquid!

 

Too be fair, wicked weed expressly said "no camping" and clearly that wasn't enforced.

 

Literally 2 people set up tents (they set them up around 1AM). Everyone else got there between 3-4am.

WW did a perfect job with the release and rewarded those who put the most effort in. You can't make everyone happy.

 

If a brewery says no camping out you can guarnteee there's going to be that group of people already packing their tents and chairs. There's certain breweries that seem to always get it right like Jester King with 1pp limits or Side Project when they judge the line before they announce limits. I'm sure it's a coincidence they produce a product that's more desired than Wicked Weed too.

 

Id be curious to hear about what the rotten apples were doing. If it was just showing up early in drinking in line, Im all for it. I think Asheville and the Police in Asheville have really embraced the beer culture. The last 2 Green Man releases have been awesome in regards to people hanging out through the night and the amount of sharing and camaraderie that takes place. I just wish Green Man could get on board with the writband/ticketing sytems WW has in place. With that said, what were the bad apples doing ?

 

Were people selling their Red Atrial out front or was it other bottles? That is super lame regardless.

I think Wicked Weed has always handled their releases well. I wasn't going at 6 am to wait for beer, and I hope everyone that did got what they were hoping for. A Side Project system would be cool (bottle counts based on attendance at a certain time), but Wicked Weed loves the 3 bottle carriers.

 

After the wristbands were handed out a person who showed up later walked up the line and offered $150 to buy one bottle from anyone. Yes, the sale happened outside the door of the Funk and they should have handled the transaction more discreetly. That is only sale I am aware of. There wasn't anyone walking down to those how showed up later and saying hey I'll sell you a bottle.

 

I was there before 4 am and saw a few very discreet bottle shares. Much less than the two at the Greenman releases you refer too (thanks to the weather I assume). I didn't walk down the street where the line stretched to see if a bunch of trash was left behind afterwards though.

I also didn't see anyone selling bottles. Heard inside that someone was offering to buy, but that's it.

So if there were any bad apples they were well past the first 50 people or so ( that I was in the middle of) and i must have missed it.

 

I definitely agree that WW did a great job with this release. I should have just left TN as early as you did. I can't deny that. I really felt that they went out of their way to make me happy. They also informed me that Bramble Barrel (a 2016 fav)would be returning but that the next gin barrel aged beer was a strawberry rhubarb sour aged on gin due out in a couple months, so I'm excited.

 

I did notice some coffee cups and one 22oz bottle were left down toward the end of the line. Not excessive, but there is no excuse not to clean up your shit.

 

agreed. I grabbed my groups trash (and some of my neighbors) and walked over to that giant dumpster in front of those new condos.

 

I thought the release was fantastic.

My group got there right after 5am and were 60, 61 and 62 in line.

We did a side by side of Red Atrial and Framboos Morte. Red Atrial has the fruit and was super jammy where Framboos Morte has the funk. I loved both beers but would pick Red Atrial all day.

 

Yeah its interesting how different folks tastes are. To me the extreme acidity of the Red Atrial was a bit of a turn off. After drink Red Atrial, it was difficult to drink any other sours just because it blows out the taste buds so badly.

I would go for Atrial > Framboos > Red Atrial > Red Angel. I would cellar the Red Atrial to see what happens, but I would fear it would just lose that amazing jammy-ness it has right now.

 

I haven't had Atrial yet. For whatever reason that one always eludes me. It would be cool to do a side by side with all four beers.

 

I'll probably do just that tasting at one of my holiday shares, and conducted it blinded so I can see what folks prefer in the tasting group.

 

Should be able to easily trade one of you Red Atrial's for a Atrail and maybe a decent plus. If that's your thing.

 

I'll do the same. Might get crazy and add Framboise de Amorosa, Crooked Stave Raspberry Orgins, and Bretta Rose.

 

Just a FYI but Walt said they plan to do it again next year and probably on a bigger scale.

 

All I gotta say.. It was damn cold. I got my bottles and left because I was over it lol.

 

Agreed. I drank three pours and went to Buxton for a catfish sandwich lol. Then home.