Two Roads Brewing Company

Yeah, I guess it is pretty shocking that they are not putting out world class IPA's ... which is basically the ONLY thing you've comp'ed them to in your post. If you expected them to be producing Bot, Flower Power, or either of those Cambridge Beers ... you certainly are going to be disappointed. Clearly I'd rather drink those compared to almost anything on the market. I would argue Hag and R2R are very much in the same category in terms of my enjoyment. That said I have Hag on hand much more often because I like NEBCO better and to a lesser extent is much better priced. R2R can't hold a candle to the other ones, but that doesn't make it a bad or even average beer. You are comparing it to the absolute cream of the crop of beers available in CT.

As an aside, there is no doubt that Flower Child is the best new bottled beer to hit distro in CT in quite a while. I've had it at CBC before but forgot how good it is. Audacity giving it a run for the money, of course.

 

Just echoing some of points that were already made but I agree that their core stuff is for the most part solid but unspectacular. I too was hoping that since they opened at such a large size they'd do some more cool/experimental type stuff to at least have on tap at the brewery if not for limited bottle runs like sours/wilds, berliners, wine barrel-aged or fruited saisons, single hop IPAs/Pale Ales, brett'd IPAs, stouts aged in all kinds of barrels/with coffee/vanilla, etc. Kind of like what Cigar City does where you can go there and have something like Guava berliner weisse, Peach Cobbler brown ale, Horchata ale along with their staples and some guest taps from other Florida breweries and stuff is always rotating. I'd be much more inclined to stop by if I knew I could go there and have a Stillwater or Evil Twin beer along with a few interesting Two Roads beers. Driving there for a $6 pint of their Saison or Hefe just doesn't do it for me and so far it seems like most of their seasonal/limited releases have been really "safe" stuff. Concerning samples I have no problem with charging for them because if they were free and unlimited I could definitely see people camping out there because they have a nice space and not buying anything while just drinking samples, which would be a problem. I just wish they'd be a little more reasonable and do something like CL, maybe do a 2oz pour for $1 and then if you purchase a pint/growler fill they subtract the cost of the sample off so it's essentially free if you buy something after.

 

I wasn't comparing R2R to those beers, just saying there's no reason for me to buy it, when those world class beers are sitting next to it on the shelf. It would be silly to expect them to come out of the gate and just start cranking out amazing beers like HF or something. I'm simply saying that if you want my beer money, and goddamn I spend way too much money on beer, then you've got to put out a better product. Here's hoping they do soon!

 

Well, inherently, you were comparing it when you said "there's way better options" ... but I get your point.

 

First of all, the only thing that's unfair is to claim that the concept of fairness applies to subjective matters of taste.

Second, I didn't even say they were mediocre across the board, quite the contrary: I love the Saison, and find both the Pils and Maibock to be above average. I don't even hate the White IPA - I just think it's pretty forgettable, much like Road to Ruin, Conntucky, and their Doppelbock. Igor was tasty, but no better than average in the often-fantastic BA RIS category.

Of the 8 Two Roads beers I've tried, I've found one to be great, 2 good, and 5 mediocre. Not exactly a wonderful track record, but a heck of a lot better than most breweries, and especially impressive for one that's still so new. My hopes for their future remain high, and I'm especially excited about Phil starting up a sour program.

 

Maybe my expectations were too high and that's my fault but I was expecting some great beers and don't see why they can't put out world class offerings. This isn't two guys brewing beer for the first time in their garage funding their brewery with money from cutting their neighbors' lawns. These guys have an amazing facility, funding, and talented/experienced people woking there. Before they opened I was hoping they'd put out stuff that'd I want to be a staple in my fridge, like Flower Power or NEBCO's hoppy offerings which are, and their DIPA isn't. It's a good beer, I wouldn't refuse one and I'd order one if I saw it on tap when I'm eating at a restaurant but it's not a "world class" beer or even a great beer in my opinion. Like I said, I think people are disappointed because they see the potential and the great/interesting things they could be doing there and right now we're getting a bunch of good not great stuff and a lot of stuff that just isn't particularly interesting. That's fine if they're going to keep doing that and they can probably be very successful doing so but for me personally that's not very exciting and I probably won't go out of my way to visit the brewery or buy their beers when there's stuff I like much more on the shelf next to it.

 

Anyone going tonight for the Worker's Comp orange puree and honeysuckle cask? And have their special firkins lasted more than one day in the past? I'm not sure if I'll make it tonight but I'd really like to try this variation.

 

Everyone needs to realize that it might just not be Two Road's intent to brew incredibly esoteric beers.

Phil's expertise? Traditional styles done in a rather classic/no-frills fashion. They may just want to leave the wacky shit left up to their contract customers.

People became so incredibly hung up on Southampton's special releases towards the end of Phil's tenure because that's what was becoming more in vogue at the time. No one even batted an eyelash when it came to their brewery-only releases until the Double Eisbock and the Berliner caught on as such precious items. Hell, they released the IRS in 2009 to very little fanfare while every other beer geek was clamoring for their allotment of Golden Delicious on Castleton Street in sub-zero weather. Funny stuff, right? Suddenly, everyone had expectations of another Peconic or Black Raspberry Lambic to be re-produced almost instantaneously. They might get there eventually, but people need to be a bit more patient and allow it to happen organically.

And perhaps they're simply attempting to create their own unique identity. It's not like they're completely oblivious of what's out there and what they're ultimately capable of producing. We're all quite aware of the potential and I'd imagine that they are as well.

Might just be a better idea to think of these particular "flagship" beers as a stepping off point to more interesting attempts at something aimed towards the craft nerd constituency. For right now, they're an average, run-of-the-mill craft brewery with the kind of visibility that has the potential to be a gateway for the "uninitiated". And that's good stuff.

 

i get the perspective, but ehhhh... i think their IRS earned great respect. lots of the core beers are way above average too (i'm thinking of keller pils and double white, both of which are--IMO--about .25~.5 underrated, more so keller pils). then again, yeah, the creative freedom element is definitely raising our expectations as well.

 

You make great points, but just to play devil's advocate on the $6 pints, it's most likely because they don't want to undercut local bars/restaurants serving their product. It's difficult enough to keep your accounts happy with a full taproom nearby.

If this was already mentioned, I apologize, it's a long thread.

 

Unfortunately did not have the inclination to do more than skim most of this, didn't read every post in here. That being said let me offer a few points.

A lot of breweries give free samples (Dogfish, think you get 4x 2oz samples which is the max per the state law). Others charge a small fee.

Sam Adams in Boston I think charges $2 but donates the fee to charity.

Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY hits you $3 but you keep the tasting glass. It's not a huge pint glass but its a cool beer glass shaped 2oz glass, perfect as a shot glass. You get 6x 2oz tastes. Not bad, $3 for basically a 12oz beer and a free glass. They charge $5-6 at their bar for a beer so this is a deal....plus a short tour.

Long Trail in VT has a self guided tour, doesn't even offer samples (though maybe at the bar, never asked).

Thomas Hooker in Bloomfield, CT has probably the best bargain. On a Saturday they are open 12-5pm and you pay $5 to get in. They'll give you a quick tour of their relatively small (but expanding) brewery then you're on your own after that. They have 2 bars that will give you as many 2oz samples as you can drink. You can drink samples for 5 hours straight if you so desire. We probably all had dozens last time we were there. They also have growler fills as well so you can take your favorite to go. We went there once with 4-5 guys and it was fun. Even caught a bachelor party that started their day there. Made friends with the guys, had free pizza and cake. Now the best part is the brother of one of the guys we went with works there so we'll have to go back and maybe get some VIP treatment.


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Onto the Two Roads beer. I have had a couple and was I not excited about any of it. Was it bad? No. But even in CT with a limited selection compared to neighboring states there's hundreds of different/better options. Would I drink TR if offered it, sure. But I won't walk by some of the new options to the shelves in CT like Weyerbacher, Founders, etc to get that at nearly the same price. Or any of the staples like Lagunitas, German imports, etc.

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Side question, was curious about contract brewing the first time I heard TR was doing it. Does anyone know if this allows a person looking to go commercial to skip some of the red tape if someone else that's already licensed is doing the production? Was thinking it might be a shortcut to getting going if someone were to come up with an awesome recipe/branding strategy.

/end:novel

 

Replying again to follow this thread, forgot to set notifications on.

 

Well said. Worker's Comp is good, but I've been underwhelmed with the rest of their portfolio and real see no reason to buy anything else again. ... Unfortunately, if the beer is not made by the guys in Woodbridge in this state, it's not really worth buying!

 

I tried Conntucky last night. Gotta give credit where it's due. I really enjoyed it. I still think their regular offerings are pretty underwhelming, but the BA Henry and this were impressive.

 

Just curious, what in particular did you enjoy about the Conntucky? I normally love anything that touched a bourbon barrel, but I couldn't find a single thing to be enthusiastic about with that beer. Not saying it was terrible or off in any way, just kind of boring.

 

I felt the same way. I did enjoy their new pale ale though...

 

Full disclosure, I was a few beers deep when I had it. But it kind of reminded me of Pumking without the pumpkin, and I'm a fan of Pumking. I agree, and don't think it was anything spectacular, just a good tasting beer. Maybe it's because their lineup is full of lackluster beers, that when they do something somewhat distinct and tasty, it makes it seem better than it is? I don't know. Not saying I would rush out to buy a bottle, but if I saw it on tap again, I'd drink it.

 

Ditto here. The pale ale was REALLY good. Apparently, they said it might go into six packs soon. I'm excited for that.

The Conntucky was meh. I liked the Maibock. It was good for the style.

 

Ack, the Pale Ale was the only other one on at the tap room that I hadn't had, but I passed on the $2 sample. I'll be sure to try at least a taste when I see it at Prime or wherever.

 

I heard this was also a beta and they were going to work on the hop profile a little more before they get it out there. I hope they don't mess it up!