Rumpkin

Andy, thanks for all the insight and info! I'm looking forward to back-to-back weekends at Avery. I'm driving straight from the airport when I get in on Sunday to pick up bottles. Looking forward to some Bad Apple, Uberschwein, and Tweak.

Oh, and word to the wise, beware the jalepeno poppers from across the way. They are HOT.

 

Like ruin your day hot

 

Now I have to get some.

 

So can anyone clue me into what a few of these beers are? Several have 0 reviews (thanks for the in-depth word on Rumplestoutskin though)...

-Bad Apple
-Ross's Mom

 

And the next day (visit to the bathroom)

 

Both delicious sours. I first had Bad Apple at Sourfest. I beleive its made with fresh green apples. I had Ross's Mom for the first time this past weekend . Great balance, not very dry like you get with some sours, and a nice cherry finish. I did have that right after a BA Tweak so my palate may have been a bit out of whack.

 

Understatement of the century?

Thanks for the info. More sours are definitely a good thing. Last year when I visited I was ecstatic to have Eremita, Dihos Dactylion, and Suis Generis to choose from. Looks like there'll at least be that many on Sunday.

 

Release was ok. A bit more confused then the last two.

Andy - maybe you can put this forward to those in charge

IF you are going to have a CC and CASH ONLY line, please please P L E A S E make this apparent with signs!! I waited for the longest time while the line next to use just flew, because we were in the CC line but no one mentioned anything about it.

Also, the line service was horrible, we had to practically throw things at your girls to get their attention for order beers. And half of them seemed to be in bad moods saying its not their job to take orders. Very, very let down with the service this time, worst I've seen yet at any Avery event. And the walk up bar in the back was just as bad, I literally waited 6 minutes to even get acknowledged by any of the servers, when there wasn't really anyone else there. Just runners, and me. And they ignored me while chatting with other staff members coming back and forth. Again, never have had a single service issue before, but this time....well, I didn't tip a single one of them, I'll say that publicly without problem. These were some of the newer staff members....maybe put the more experienced people in the back that can actually handle extremely fast paced pours and transactions?


AS for the Rumpkin.....WOOHOO! Better then last year IMO. Its got a bit more kick (18% vs 15%) but man, great balance of flavors and delivery. You guys knocked this one out of the park.

 

Totally agree on the CC machine line. I had no idea that I was in that line until there were only 4-6 people in front of me. This was at about 5:30. I believe the CC machine availability was a first as I don't recall a release ever not being cash only. I specifically made a stop for cash to pay for bottles....and keep me on a budget.

 

Ok after leaving and thinking about it, I came across very d-baggish in that last post, apologies. Let me restate that a bit

Front bar/patio - excellent service as usual! Great experience
Beers on tap/for sale - top notch, again totally what I come to expect from Avery (Rumple was ok and I wasn't unhappy drinking it but 1 was enough) Thoroughly enjoyed BA Samael, BA Tweak, Uber and the 3.5 pale (really, really like this one, I heard its going to be canned??)

Not so great experiences

Back bar - ignored by staff for a very long time compared to the amount of traffic at the time I was standing there trying to order my beer (front bar at least said hi and we'll be with you in a minute, as always), the 2 bar tenders didn't know the prices on several of the pours (might have been over charged...5.50 for a 10oz of the Rumple sound right to anyone else? 16oz was 6.50) , was given the wrong beer initially.
Line servers - were very hard to track down for orders, and the runners didn't seem to be enjoying their jobs.
All the back staff seemed to be very overwhelmed and there was some obvious confusion going around.

Cash/credit line. Awesome to have both, maybe just mark them with signs more clearly?

All in all, not stopping me from being there Sunday!

 

More then a few times I have seen "cash only" posted on Avery's webpage, on here, Beer Pulse and Facebook, and then see them running cards at the actual event from the get-go. The first time they went publicized "cash only"....which I THINK was after Margarette....they brought out the CC machine after everyone had gone through the line for the most part and they allowed extra purchases. I remember going back and getting another 6 pack on the CC after getting my cash bottles.

You're better off using cash for budget reasons lol

 

And it sounds like a much shorter line, too. I'll plan on having cash but it's nice to know that they will also run cards if I need it for some reason.

 

Alrighty. Responding to various things in no particular order.

1. I will definitely pass on everything you wrote to our Tap Room manager, milehigh. We try as hard as we can, but it's always difficult to get everything nailed down. So helpful criticisms are always welcome. And no, you didn't come across as "d-baggish." They sound like valid concerns, so we'll work on it. Part of the issue, as with much of the production facility, is that none of these spaces were designed for what we're doing with them. So it's a constant battle to turn an imperfect space into something better, and I certainly wouldn't say we've nailed it all just yet.

2. I'm also happier with this year's Rumpkin. True, it's stronger, but that wasn't the goal... it just so happens that we had the most successful >15% abv fermentation in the history of the brewery, and some of these gigantic fermentations can vary a bit. That first portion of Rumpkin was a double brew... just enough for 16 oak barrels. But it went so far (I'm guessing >19% abv) that it had nothing left to balance the ethanol, the barrels, and the spice. We could not have released that beer as Rumpkin. So when I could get another small batch of barrels, we intentionally brewed a third batch that would have more residual sugar post-fermentation. The goal was to have the 2/3 and the final 1/3 balance out to be a little drier than last year's and still have a slightly bigger spicing. And we also shortened the barreling time a wee bit... with non-sour barrel aged beers, sometimes less is more. After a while, you've soaked up all the flavor you can get from the barrels and you're just waiting for the beer to oxidize. Last year's Rumpkin had a small amount of volatile oxidative aromas early after bottling and we wanted to avoid that. If the people buying the beer want to cellar it and enjoy some oxidative flavors, that's great, but we want to start the beer at maximum awesomeness and minimum oxidation.

3. Bad Apple: 6% abv Sour Belgian Pale with Granny Smith apples. The base beer is Karma, with a secondary fermentation of our house Brett strain and soured by our house pedio. After 6 months in neutral barrels and a good amount of souring, we had Savory Cuisines (they make our Tap Room food) puree around 100 pounds of Granny Smith apples, then funneled that puree directly into the barrels. Waited another 6 months or so and made a blend of 2 full barrels and a third of another (that barrel was actually 18 months old and had taken on some funkier flavors, so it was better to only blend some of it). This was a brilliant idea by Dan Driscoll, one of our awesome lab nerds. If all goes well, I hope to make it again. It might not be the Crayziest Sour Beeah EVAR, but I just think it's delicious.

4. Ross's Mom: a 2 barrel blend, blended by our good friend Jeff Bagby (formerly of the Pizza Ports in CA) for his wedding a few months ago. A 5-gallon keg was served there under a name of Jeff's choosing, and the rest is being portioned out in our Tap Room. I'm not going to go into the beers and barrels that make this particular blend, as I think that can take much of the fun out of it. But they were both sour projects and one had a fruit in it. Somewhere around 8.5 - 9% abv, but I can't say I've had it tested.

5. The jalapeno poppers are called Jalapeno Popper Roulette for a reason. They're the real deal, but that means some are hot and some are not. I've had full orders where all of them are mild, and I've had orders where up to 3 of them are burning awesomeness (I like spicy food). But it's definitely unpredictable and roulette-ish. Fortunately, the milder ones still taste great.

I'm sure I missed something in there, but I have more work to do

-Andy

 

I did not know that. My buddy put the order in after we saw a tray go by. I don't think we even saw a menu. I definitely got burning awesomeness. I will definitely order them again if we have a group.

 

So I just happen to be in Colorado this weekend visiting from eastern Kansas so I'm definitely coming to the line party! This is my first release party that I've attended. Can anyone recommend what time I should get there if it starts at 4? I really have no idea what to expect other than any amazingly good time! Loved uncle Jacobs stout and can't wait to try all of these on Sunday

 

Can anyone spare a couple bottles I couldn't make it to the release? We can meet up sometime this weekend or next week. . .

 

I like your style. I also like the amount of times I've been lucky enough to drink Tweak so far this year.

 

I have a couple to spare. Shoot me a pm to work out the details.

 

Did anyone try Eremita IV? III was one of the best sours I've ever had.

 

Better for you and Avery. Those credit card processing firms have a gold mine Save yourself and Avery money...use coin (or folding money)