Two roads "Lambic" series

that shouldn't make you *more* inclined to have an idea of "what a gueuze tastes like."

 

The one good thing to come out of this thread is that it has made me a much bigger fan of @F2brewers

 

hahaha.

i have a fan!

that's too bad because in reality, i'm the wurst.

 

There aren't that many gueuzes out there period.

If you're in MA, you ought to be able to lay hands on traditional gueuze from Oud Beersel, Hanssens, Timmerman's (Limited Edition Series), Van Honsebrouck (Gueuze Fond Tradition), Girardin (1882 Black Label), Lindemans (Cuvee Rene), and Boon (Oude Gueuze, Moriau, Marriage Parfait) without too much trouble. Combined with your list above, you've actually got access to *most* of the ones out there in a commercial setting.

De Cam is a tough one, De Troch Chapeau Oude Gueze is not imported into the US currently and I've not actually seen Mort Subite's Natural Oude Gueuze (but I've heard it is out there).

 

Fair enough. Obviously the quality of the beer is the primary thing that matters. I think that the year-round lineup at Two Roads is decent and enjoyable but I dont think any of the individual beers in it are particularly outstanding or out of the ordinary. Road 2 Ruin is pretty good but it can't compete with all the other double ipas overwhelming the market.

Two Roads is widely distributed enough that you can easily get their stuff at the store, with the exception of their smaller batch stuff like these lambics. If their beer sucked I wouldnt care to visit the brewery, and if the brewery was really substandard I wouldnt care to visit more than once if I could just save a trip and get their stuff in the store. But I like their beers and I think their facilty is pretty cool, so I will always enjoy a visit. I have enjoyed their special releases because they give me a chance to grab something from there that I can't get at the store, and so far I have liked most of their sours.

 

I didn't go as I pulled a double the night before, but I heard it was a great success. Philsomic was objectively good from all the people whose tastes I respect.

For me, the place being 2 years old, making a wealth of different styles, and being as active in the community as they are is a positive thing. No, not all the beers I've had from them were top of the line either in quality or style skill but I chock that up to growing pains. The place is brand new and expanding to meet demand.

They aren't NEBCO, and they never will be. Which is just fine with me. If every place was NEBCO I'd never want another Seahag again.

 

yeah my general thoughts on two roads is that they're good for beer in the region. not all their beer is great, but when they release something new i don't discount the possibility that it will be great (compare: hooker).

 

Top three posts I have read on BA, ever.
I love when passionate people go this far out of their way to explain something. Completely disregarding the fact that others probably won't appreciate the information being dropped on their domes half as much as the speaker and still speaking from fascination. I can relate!

 

thanks for this

 

As others have said, it seems you love the brewery building (which is impressive) and the merch (which I think is cheesy, personally), the tour (??) and the fact that there's food trucks (????) but only after being called out on that, you say R2R is pretty good but fails in comparison to others locally.

As for questioning your troll-dom, **to me** the statements you made were so outlandish, I couldn't tell if they were real or not. You've somewhat clarified yourself since, even if I/many don't agree with you.

And I must say, the "Gueuze" was shockingly decent. The "kriek" tasted like a slightly soured Lindemann's to me. Philsalmic could be good in time, but right now it's iffy. Philsalmic was VERY like/hate among my group.

 

Well i also work in an aerospace manufacturing plant, so I might be biased towards getting more excited about the Two Roads facility than the average brewery visitor. No one else who went with me thought that the 20 ton crane was cool.

 

I have to agree the Gueuze was a shock, for being a blend of months was really good... I think it will develop in time to be more complex, I am assuming its bottle conditioned but didn't look. When compared to other American wild blends, I think it will hold up, but would like to try side by side.

The Kriek was overly tart as expected, and is young. Even Cantillion Kriek fresh has a lot of cherry presence. I think with time this will also change, and become more "gueuze" than "cherry", so it sort of depends on what your looking for.

Philsomic, I expected to be the acetobacter infected barrels, that couldn't be blended into the above two beers, and sold as this beer, or at least blended into this beer (I'm all for re-marketing a beer that isn't perfect) So overwhelmingly acetic pucker is what I was expecting. I actually think they were going more for this, as in the description they added Balsmic Vinegar to the barrels, I suspect because it wasn't as vinegar as expected. (they did add vinegar cultures to the barrel), so this was intentional.

Because Philsomic was not as acetic as expected, I was disappointed (I also tried it after the gueuze ant, and should have had it first). That being said it was still tasty, and time will tell what happens to this beer.

Perhaps Philsomic will become the next Peconic, so trade me your walez for my extra bottle now.

 

Yup. I'm not interested in seeking out a sour from a brewery that has yet to produce a standard IPA or a Pale I can finish 12 oz of.
Baby steps...

 

Thanks again, really appreciate all the solid information!

At least you didn't lay it down like a brät… (Couldn't resist).

This thread got "hijacked" a bit, but I think the discussion is important. Even if some people don't care, at least the information is out there for those who do. It will only bring more awareness.

I thought the Philsamic was pretty good on draft, but I can see it being somewhat polarizing. What is everyone's opinion on how it will age? I'm hoping it might develop some more funky/barnyard esters; I think it could really improve the beer overall.

 

anyone looking for Philsamic ? i have an extra and an extra gueuze glass

 

I may take you up on that offer. I not-so-sadly was at a wedding in Nashville so I missed this release. I did go to the first bottle release last spring which was a fun event. I think I still have a couple bottles left of each in case anyone missed it.

 

This is the quintessential beer snob comment. Road 2 Ruin and Ol Factory are not the greatest of their styles, but they are 10x better than almost all the beers on my local shelf. Essentially, you're saying you will only drink a 2IPA if it's brewed in VT, or famously called Gandhi Bot, Zombie Dust, or Pliney (I'm obviously exaggerating).

@commis since you're from MA I'm assuming you haven't had any of their regulars in a while. Give them a revisit.

 

I think that Ol' Factory is an excellent German style pilsner. That and Elm City pils are my favorites. There are plenty of double IPAs worse than Road 2 Ruin, and I could say that there are plenty of worse breweries out there.

 

We got to try Ol' Factory out of the fermenter on a tour last weekend and it was much much better.

 

Ol' Factory can't hold Elm's City's jock, IMO. Not that it would want to.....