Societe opinions

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by evilc, Sep 24, 2012.

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  1. evilc

    evilc Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2012 California

    Wasn't that impressed with the 1st batches, but they have improved immensely. The Apprentice is amazing now. I used to prefer The Pupil, but with the two current batches of those beers, Apprentice is killing me. I asked if that recipe was locked up - they said no :/ Hopefully any changes make it even more awesome. Broke down and bought growlers - $25 growlers are a huge pet peeve of mine but I sucked it up because the beer is so damn good.

    Place is awesome for kids - lots of run around room. Match that with Deli-SA a quick walk away - awesome.
     
    ZX6Chris likes this.
  2. heesu

    heesu Initiate (0) Jul 2, 2012 Michigan

    Agree - I'm a big fan of their IPA's. haven't tried their Belgian styled beers yet though.


    Those growler prices are f'n absurd. Just seems like a ripoff.
     
  3. evilc

    evilc Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2012 California

    It is a hell of a nice piece, the SS one. MASSIVE seal, gets cold as Antarctica - but yeah - $25 = eat me. Oh well. Bought 2. Never have to bitch about it again.

    Their Belgians haven't blown me away. Their RIS, "The Butcher", is outstanding.
     
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  4. hophead247

    hophead247 Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2008 California

    I was pouring both The Apprentice and The Dandy at an IPA fest a while back, and thought they were just ok. I heard many a folk say 'oh, it's from San Diego...it must be good'.
     
  5. evilc

    evilc Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2012 California

    Big improvements on The Apprentice, that's for sure. The Pupil went backwards a bit this batch I think. Hopefully they strike gold and lock the recipes soon.
     
  6. Xul

    Xul Pooh-Bah (2,139) May 18, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I was blown away at how much rich, intense roasted character they got, without any hint of astringency...I'm a sucker for a good RIS, but The Butcher really impressed me. Out of the rest of their beers, Widow is my favorite but I haven't tried their IPAs since the initial batches, I definitely need to rectify that.
     
  7. Srsly

    Srsly Zealot (508) Mar 21, 2010 California

    I visited a couple weeks ago, totally loved the apprentice, was underwhelmed with most of the rest of it. I didn't think it was bad, just unexceptional. The butcher had just kicked when I got there, wish I had gotten to try that. I liked the space a lot, but the thing that made me most excited was all of the barrels stacked up in the corner. An employee told me that they're not using any old spirit barrels, and they're so far only making sours. Should be a pretty great place to visit in about a year when those barrels are ready.
     
  8. Schmaltzy

    Schmaltzy Initiate (0) Oct 13, 2009 California

    Societe makes no money on selling their growlers for $25. The cost alone is in the low to mid $20 mark, then cleaning them with acid and washing them out costs labor. Not to mention the co2 purge.
    Butcher should be back soon and I'm looking forward to it.
    I still enjoy all their beers, debutante the least, and think they are very underestimated thus far.
     
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  9. grandmeaulnes

    grandmeaulnes Initiate (0) Oct 18, 2010 Ohio

    I like the Dandy and the Apprentice.

    Not world-class stuff necessarily, but quite tasty.
     
  10. errantnight

    errantnight Pooh-Bah (2,015) Jul 7, 2005 District of Columbia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    The Pupil is fantastic. The Apprentice is pretty great. Last batch of The Dandy was much improved. Their Belgians need some work. They seem brewed like someone is afraid to let the yeast get truly expressive (I'd guess they're fermenting them far too cool).
     
  11. jamex

    jamex Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2010 California

    Loved Pupil, but this latest batch was disappointing.
     
  12. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Yeah I wasn't really impressed either. I think that's my only encounter with them, and I was excited to try them, but definitely let down. This was in early August, so I'm not sure whether they were early/late batches.
     
  13. HopHead84

    HopHead84 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,268) Nov 29, 2006 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I wasn't thrilled with the first batch of Apprentice. It wasn't bad, just mediocre. Good to hear it's improved.
     
  14. MacNCheese

    MacNCheese Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2011 California

    Societe guys had a really strong start, but remember: they're brand new. They're already making great beer after just a few months, imagine where they'll be in a year.

    And don't whine about the cost of SS growlers...you really think they'd be as cheap as glass? In fact, don't they offer glass growlers as well?
     
  15. tyrsis

    tyrsis Savant (1,074) Mar 13, 2009 California
    Trader

    Yeah they do... and they're the same price.
     
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  16. MacNCheese

    MacNCheese Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2011 California

    Ouch...now that's expensive.

    Hess and the future Rip Currrent are also selling the SS growlers. RC is going to be about the same $25, and I don't think they're making any profit on the sale. Not sure what Hess is charging.
     
  17. tyrsis

    tyrsis Savant (1,074) Mar 13, 2009 California
    Trader

    I said this in another thread, but I'll say it again: I don't want a fancy growler. I want your cheapest one.

    Why?

    If it's cheaper, people are more likely to buy it. The more people who have said growler, are more likely then to return to the brewery for fills. To me, that's going to result in a lot more beer being sold, and a lot more money in their pocket.
     
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  18. MacNCheese

    MacNCheese Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2011 California

    That's why I have so many PP growlers, they charge $3 for them or something stupid cheap. If I'm there and I forgot to bring one and I see something I want, I don't hesitate!

    I do like the functionality of the SS growlers though...but I'm a homebrewer and I often fill growlers of my beer so I get a lot more use out of 'em. But I won't have more than 1 SS growler from any 1 brewery, a cheap glass option would probably be a wise business decision as well.
     
  19. DrAwkward82

    DrAwkward82 Initiate (0) Apr 16, 2005 California

    Fancy growlers are something that works better in other states, where you could have it as your cool, decorative ONLY growler to bring everywhere. It's not so good in California where everybody already owns way, way more growlers than they want, and if they absolutely MUST purchase yet another, most would prefer it to be as basic and affordable as possible.
     
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  20. Schmaltzy

    Schmaltzy Initiate (0) Oct 13, 2009 California

    The guys at Societe only buy the best and that means the best sealing growlers they could find. They wanted to make sure that their growlers could last longer than any other breweries growler.
    Ask Spycow how long the growler of Butcher lasted, I want to say 3-4 weeks in a stainless growler and Masterski still gave it a 4.5/5, I don't know what you think but the co2 purge and seal on that growler must have worked great for that.
    I honestly wish that more breweries cared enough about their beer to make sure it stayed fresh for as long as possible.
    Just my 2 cents.
     
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