At the time, it struck me that the hype that many beers were being given was not living up to my perhaps unreasonable expectations. Much like the follow-up release from a bands debut smash, one’s strong presumptions can be quickly knocked down to reality by that first listen, or first sip. As my palate grew and matured, so did my belief that a beer should taste a certain way. After yet another beer disappointed me, Hop Snob was born.
In the past year, Hop Snob has treated me very well and introduced me to some amazing people in the beer scene and beyond. While Snob and Snobbery has negative connotations in the beer industry, I’ve never viewed myself as a true beer snob. While Thrillist gives us ’19 Types of Beer Snobs’, I don’t really view myself fitting in to any one of them. Turns out, I know what I like to drink and I prefer to drink good beer that fits my taste.
As for my taste, that has actually changed over the past year. When I was introduced to my first sour beer 9 months ago, I would have laughed at you if you had told me that sour would be one of my beer styles of choice. Fast forward 9 months and I’ve had some great sours from Wicked Weed, Paradox, Four Quarters and even the elusive Backacre, which I was fortunate enough to share a second bottle of just last evening.
I also would have laughed at you one year ago if you had told me that in 365 days time that I would amass 1,700+ Twitter followers just talking about beer. While most are strangers, some are bots and a few have nothing to do with beer at all, a handful of these 1,700+ followers are good friends. I don’t know where I would be on May 5, 2015 had it not been for Twitter and these fine folk that I now get to call my friends.
So, here’s to you, ALL 1,768 of my Twitter followers. I’d like to thank you for coming along for the ride and I’m extremely excited to see where the next year brings me, my palate, my liver and Measured Methods.
Remember ‘Born on Dating’ from Budweiser? I do and at the time, it seemed silly. For a brewery that produces such massive volumes of a mediocre colored water, it seemed like a trivial thing at the time, but in hindsight, perhaps they were on to something. Even though they admit that their beer is good for well over 100+ days, will their clientele notice if they were to consume a Bud older than 200 days or even more? Maybe so and maybe not.
Fast forward many years to the craft beer boom we are currently experiencing. 3,000 breweries strong and growing by the day. Thousands more in planning. It has become more and more about local and about fresh. How fresh? How about off the canning line and into your hands fresh?!? That is what I experienced yesterday.
Fiddlehead Brewery, after being open just two and a half years, has seen amazing growth. By the start of year two, Fiddlehead IPA was available in over 200 locations on tap solely in Vermont. In the last 6 months, Fiddlehead has gone from those 200 locations and growlers at the brewery only to the latest craze in the craft beer industry: canning. Thanks to Iron Heart Canning of Connecticut, the fantastic beers of Fiddlehead have found a new home in 12 and 16 ounce cans. With a few canning runs of Second Fiddle and Hodad under their belt, it was announced recently that Fiddlehead would be canning every few weeks. The demand for each run of Second Fiddle, Fiddlehead’s first widely released Double India Pale Ale (DIPA), has grown immensely and the last batch sold out in under an hour, direct from the brewery on Shelburne Road (Route 7) in Shelburne, Vermont.
Fast forward to yesterday – August 21, 2014 and coincidentally, my birthday, but that is not the point, the date that Fiddlehead announced they would have their MasterMind DIPA available for a full canning release. Having been brewed in September 2013 & January 2014 for a brewery only beer, it was a bit unknown, at least by me, as to what could be expected. Having never had the beer before, I ventured to 6305 Shelburne Road, just up the road from the famous Shelburne Museum and directly across the street from the Shelburne Vineyard at 10:15. A full 45 minutes before the doors were to open and was greeted with a light line:
What better thing to do while waiting in line than to talk about beer, right? I chatted up the gents in front of me and those 45 minutes passed rather quickly as dozens joined the line behind us. Notice the tail of the big yellow truck in the picture above? That is Iron Heart Canning and I thought it curious that they were onsite and working at 10:15 in the morning. Having never been to a can release at Fiddlehead or any other location, I had presumed that the cans were done the day before and then sold the following day. Understanding space constraints at most locations, holding onto hundreds of cases of filled cans is not ideal or most of the time, not even practical.
Space constraints aside, I was a bit shocked to see firsthand how the MasterMind was being delivered. After watching the first 12 or so customers walk in and out immediately with their 4 packs, or case, or 2 cases or more, the line started to slow down. As I approached the bar, I understood why. The cans were coming out FRESHLY CANNED DIRECT FROM THE LINE. What? Could this be happening? We all want to think our beer is fresh, whether it has a dating system or not, but, to actually watch the cans come out of the back room, drenched in condensation and spillage? Could this be right? Indeed it was, as I watched as Matty O., the proprietor and founder of Fiddlehead, personally carrying cases from the back into the retail location to his adoring fans.
This can’t be the norm I thought. 15 minutes into the can release and I am literally watching the line drop beers into the hands of awaiting drinkers? I’m not going to complain. Why, yes, I’d love a free sample of your Mellow Mike pale ale while I wait 3 minutes for perhaps the freshest beer I’ve ever seen, why not?
Let us think about this freshness for a few more seconds…….
Fast forward 30 minutes and I’m poking around the shelves of The Beverage Warehouse in Winooski, If I picked up 50% of the beer on the splendid shelves of the best craft beer seller in Northern Vermont and tried to locate a ‘born on date’, do you think I would find them? My guess would be no. The more I try to find a date on a bottle or a six pack rack, the more I’m flustered and confused why dating is not more prevalent within craft beer. If you haven’t read Jeff Baker’s (@aphilosophyof on Twitter) column from the Burlington Free Press, he wrote a great article on being informed about beer dating that you can read here.
Now while not all beer is meant to be consumed fresh, my personal beers of choice – pale, IPA, DIPA – is best suited and drank while as close to kegging, bottling and canning as possible. What I experienced today almost seemed beyond that. Right out of the tanks and into 12 ounces of pure joy. My hope is that everyone can experience beer not only this good, but this fresh. Do yourself a favor and go out of your way to try it sometime. It doesn’t have to be MasterMind, or even Fiddlehead. per se. I can tell you that I’ve never been one for lines, but after this experience and being treated to a brewer delivered case right off the line, I’m now sold. Oh, it also helps that what is inside the can is FANTASTIC.
Enjoy and #DrinkFresh: 10, 12, 16, 22, 32 or 64 ounces at a time.
Despite being a true hop head and loving my IPA’s, I can appreciate a good porter or stout. Having never had either of these much sought after stouts, I decided to head down to the Farmhouse when it seemed from action on Untappd that the Goose Island was still available at 9:30. I arrived close to 9:45 and after surveying all of the fantastic choices, I decided on my first BCBS. 15% ABV?!? $10.50 for 10 ounces?!? At one point in time I would have shuddered or laughed at either or both of these stats. I had never even heard of a 15% beer before. And $10.50 for 10 ounces? Once upon a time, I was more than happy to secure a 12 pack of a passable beer for that price. Oh, how the times (and my palate and preference) are changing.
I don’t need to review beers. There are plenty of professionals who are trained to talk about flavors and fragrance. (For the record, you can read the Rate Beer review here) It was boozy – thick with the bourbon barrels that it is aged in, yet supremely sippable and drinkable. I enjoyed it from top to bottom and am very glad I went out to try it. It is an experience. I will always remember trying it. Would I go about of my way to have it again? I’ll have to get back to you. The price alone could make me hesitate.
I returned to the bar and the bartender asked if I wanted another BCBS. My head and my wallet did not need a second. With so many incredible offerings at the Farmhouse, I HAD to try something else. I rarely get to make it out, so the call to have a 2nd beer was way too strong to pass up. After a few suggestions from behind the bar, I had to go with my heart and try Hill Farmstead’s Amarillo Single Hop Pale Ale.
From the incredible nose to the perfect first sip, I couldn’t be more happy with my selection. Of course, it couldn’t have been more different from my first selection – a deep, dark, boozy, strong stout to a beautiful golden single hop pale. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Hill Farmstead once and have about a half-dozen of Shaun Hill’s beers. Each one has their own character and a taste sophistication that is above comprehension. Too many beers are just a mash of the ingredients. That has never tasted the case with Shaun’s beers. Each one has a quality that stands out in their own way. I’ve had Edward, Abner, Twilight of the Idols, Society & Solitude #5, Walden and James. All experiences in their own right. Especially when consumed in Greensboro Bend. This Amarillo was a true gem. A beer that I could drink each day with no complaints. I couldn’t help but enjoy the nose each time I brought the glass off of the bar. I couldn’t help but smack my lips after each sip cleared them.
I won’t soon have any regrets for venturing out to the Farmhouse 4th Birthday celebration. The crowd was light by the time I arrived (and I stayed through last call) and it was a great way to wrap up Hump Day. With Hill Farmstead’s upcoming birthday not being celebrated in Greensboro Bend (due to the ongoing construction), there is more than one location to celebrate in a few weeks. Parker Pie Company in Glover on Friday, May 23rd and Prohibition Pig and Blackback Pub in Waterbury (affectionately being called WaterBEERy) on May 24th will be hosting Hill Farmstead tap takeovers. Tentative draught lists are up on Hill Farmstead’s page.
Don’t be afraid to shake things up and drink from opposite sides of the spectrum. Going from a boozy stout to the most flavorful pale you’ll ever drink is just an order away. I will equate it to my taste in music. Going from the Grateful Dead to the Beastie Boys is just one click, and a tolerant ear, away.
Hop Snobbery 