Tap Takeovers

Can't see any downside--if you like their stuff--just awesome events. At a Founders event here there was KBS, Backwoods, Breakfast stout and a bunch of regulars. What not to like?

 

Swag bro.

 

Stone tap takeover at lord hobo one of the best beer events I've ever been to. Bunch of barrel aged one offs amd brilliant experiments. bonus: drunk speech by greg koch.

 

Stone had a great one at Fat Heads brewpub in Cleveland last year. Lots of taps and unusual (for me) stuff. Best was a Bell's tap takeover to kick off Cleveland beer week last fall. 35 different taps throughout the day, including the jazz series, black note, BA cherry stout, oracle, hopsoulution, uberon, and multiple years of expedition stout and double cream stout.. I didn't know they had 35 different brews.

 

Okay, this has me very excited for the tap takeover they'll be doing at Bier Station after winning the bracket challenge in March.

 

I remember when Hopcat in East Lansing had a Shorts tap take over...I think there were 100+ varieties on tap that weekend.

 

Hop City in ATL had a slamming one tonight with Octane Coffee in commemoration of its 5 year anniversary. Just for the event:

- Red Brick Tripel (base for 3 Bagger) aged in cask with mint and cocoa nibs
- Jailhouse Prison Riot peanut better chocolate stout
- 3 Taverns Theophan the Recluse aged in Buffalo Trace barrels
- Monday Night Hoptane Coffee IPA
- Sweetwater 2011 Goulash and 2012 Festive

Now that's a takeover.

 

The only tap takeovers I've seen are very mediocre new breweries that open.

 

Prairie did a takeover a couple of months ago downtown and had just about everything they offer on a regular basis as well as, from what I actually remember, multiple Bomb! and Noir variants. Always a good time when you can get in on some of that.

I would love to see a Mother's takeover or just distribution, in general, in Oklahoma. Every time I'm in Springfield I make it a point to go over to their tasting room and sample the seasonal, or a one off that's only available at the tasting room, as well as the latest version of Thing 1 & Thing 2. Then of course I have to go stock up on 5-6 6-packs to hold me over till I get a chance to go up there again.

 

New England Brewing tap takeover= awesomesauce. But seriously a bar has a tap takeover for them every year where they have their regular line up plus seasonals, plus BA versions of their regular beers, plus cask versions of Stout Trooper. So I support tap takeover as long as they provide something besides their regular line up if it is a beer bar.

 

they're usually very busy, which I'm not a big fan of. that being said I just went to a NEBCO take over @ delaney's. I made sure I was there early and actually got a seat at the bar. had my 3 pints of FBD, a cask of seahag dry hopped with nelson sauvin, a pint of coriolis and left. I love the beers but I hate the crowds.

on a different note: why does every new beer bar, in this area, start with a berkshire brewing tap take over?

 

Yeah, totally in favor of takeovers. 'Round here, the brewery/distributors seem wise enough to make it worth your while, including lots of rare/one-off stuff. Always dig when a firkin is involved too. Classic one within the last half-year was Firestone Walker trotting out Anniversary XVII, XVI, Sucaba 2012, and Velvet Merkin (plus some of the last vestiges of Walker's Reserve Porter, which I put right up there with Founders Porter). Good night.

Those Goose Island "Migration Events" that are flying (sorry) around the country have been good too -- got to try Proprietor's thanks to that.

If there's an issue to be had, it's not a lack of awesome stuff to drink, it's the potential for huge crowds and kegs blowing super quickly. But as long as you have some perspective and try not to sweat it if something kicks before you get a shot at it, they're great fun, IMO.

 

One of my best beer nights in recent memory was the stone takeover of The Lord hobo in Cambridge 3 years ago or so. They limited entrants to a real small number -- and stone came w multiple verticals and all kinds of odd one offs. Funny scene of the night ---Greg Koch walking around handing out copies of the stone cd/DVD and signing it like he was a rock star or something. That night -- my buddies and I were believers..

 

I like them as long as they're being done by a brewery I enjoy.

 

I think they are good and bad.

The Good: The actual tap takeover event is fine and good, maybe even great, depending on how much you like the brewery. Most takeovers I've seen have a few special/rare taps too, which is good. Brewery reps giving out freebies and prizes is always a nice plus too.

The Bad: When you happen to go to that bar the next day and 50-75% of the bar's beer taps are leftovers from the takeover event. The special/rare stuff that was at the event is all gone and you are left with the regular line-up you could probably get anywhere. It's even worse if you're not really a fan of that brewery. Sometimes the beers lingers around for a long time after the event too.

So, bar owners, if you're going to have a tap takeover event make sure the beer is finished at the event! Don't stick your customers with the event dregs for days following.

 

Definitely depends on the brewery as others have said. I don't like to sh*t on breweries, but obviously I have my preferences like anyone else.

When it's at a bar, not a problem - there's plenty of others to choose from.

Only time it's a little frustrating is when it's at the store I get my growler fills at. They generally have great stuff on tap - so I'll have seen they have some cool things (but forgotten to check if they're having an event that night) and will head there after work, only to find they've changed everything over, and it's all stuff from a brewery I'm not interested in. Definitely not a real "problem" in the global sense though.

Makes me think back to 2010/2011, when we used to have some great HF / VT events here in NYC. Those days are long gone:

1. Vermont Beer and Cheese - HT, Double Sunshine, Petit Mutant, Abner and others at this one

http://www.manbeerlove.com/2011/02/the-blind-tiger-vermont-beer-and-cheese-festival/

2. HF event (scroll half way down) - Double Galaxy, Ephraim, Art, Flora, Edward and more at this one

http://www.blindtigeralehouse.com/blog/?currentPage=16

Edit - though to be fair, NYC has had a nice run of HF over the last week or so

 

If they are pouring year round stuff, I always pass.

 

My thoughts exactly. Tired of the lingering mediocre stuff in the brewery's portfolio that remains, sometimes for weeks. This also has the effect of skewing the range of styles available on tap that might normally be more diversified, or more skewed towards desirable styles.

 

In all honesty, I don't like working tap takeovers even as the brewer at my brewery. They rarely get the turn out that they used to because they are being done all the time now. Restaurants will call and ask if we'll send a rep, promise a huge crowd if we'll agree, and so I go and maybe 10 people show up over three hours. But, that's what you get when there is a brewery doing a tap takeover nearly every Friday and Saturday at any given restaurant or bar in town.

 

I like them.