Um...No. I doubt it. Truly. I recognize that I could be wrong. Anything else?
Obviously, you already have. I'm not at all convinced by this. Old hand-bottling habits die hard.
And again, I'm not sure I see what this proves. I've NEVER understood why this "proves" that breweries make "special" batches just for GABF. All it "proves" is that breweries DON'T simply send the beers they made in the past three months to GABF. On the other hand, if a brewery DOES have a special batch that turns out particularly well, they'd be fools not to put some aside for GABF. I do know of a number of brewpubs who DO save GABF-winning batches to serve around the holidays; is there a particular reason why they should serve them right after GABF? It escapes me.
Just because you were disappointed with Bigfoot lately doesn't mean everyone was. Taste is subjective, and variations in personal taste are common. No news, I'm sure, but...
"Alexander D. Mitchell IV" wrote in news:nld0f.3$ snipped-for-privacy@news.abs.net:
What have you done with Peter?
I agree. But you and I are not everybody. A medal is worth money to a brewery.
Thanks for pointing this out. I didn't realize there were festivals/competitions that buy the beer they serve. I never, EVER want to attend a festival/competition that buys the beer they serve. Never. Is there a web site so I can identify this bullshit in advance? I just don't want to waste my time. Competition or not, I want to drink what a brewery wants me to drink not what some asshole volunteer wants me to drink.
I can organize a festival and FORCE brewers to send me kegs with a check attached!? That's my idea of a perfect retirement...Do I have to physically make them give me beer or do I have to kick a door down at 0330 or...?
I'll bet it's "won't". And I don't blame 'em. At 2,335 beers and
109 judges, that's 21.something per judge. I've done that. It starts to be unfun at about #14. Look up the scoresheet when you get a chance.
Aroma: Like it? __yes __no Flavor: Like it? __yes __no
etc.
Brains Mild...Why did those talentless bastards enter? Were they forced to enter? Did they have to go to hospital? Are they happy they entered and/or went to hospital? If the GBBF paid for them to enter, then it's all-of-a-sudden difficult for me to care about their BOS.
GABF:
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A-B/Miller/Pabst/et al are on that list, but so are Alameda, Ballast Point, Bear Republic, BBC, Deschutes, Dog Fish Head, Elysian, Firestone, Goose Island, Kona, Main Street, Oggi's, Pizza Port, Russian River, Cetera...
Deschutes alone, I think, is the exception to your rule. Oh. Wait. Did I say Deschutes? I meant Pizza Port. No, er, I meant DFH. Um, I mean Elysian. No, I actually meant...
Brew a Saison or a Munich Dunkel then. If a brewery decides to focus on popular styles they are going to face real competition.
A brewery that brews a '"best"' AIPA might well get their butt kicked in a field of "102" AIPAs. That's a Big Dog thing. Don't want your ass kicked, don't leave the porch. Leastways that's how I see it. Sell it to your local customers and don't whinge about entry fees while you don't enter.
How is that different from a pub in general?
A gold/silver/bronze medal is advertizing. A cheap investment. A keg of beer - what? $12 in ingredients and brewer's salary? $100 entry fee? $50 shipping? What's a 2"x3" ad go for in the Celebrator? If you suck and your customers suck, then don't enter. You must be fine serving band-aid beer, or "hayferweezens" with lemon. If you know how to win a competition
- for Quaffir's sake - ENTER! If not, if you're a viable business
- shut the f*ck up.
The local Belmont Brewing Co. won gold at the LA County Fair this year. Blackwell, the brewer, paid for the entry fee out of his own pocket. Why ON EARTH did he do that? Personal satisfaction would be my guess, but I'm also guessing that it helps the pub and therefore helps him down the line should things go that way. I fail to see how this hurts anyone and I fail to see how a viable (?) business can't play this game.
Yeah, it does, when you have to shuffle your serving order and you've already got something planned. Screw it, hang the medals up, smile a lot, and promise them a big event in two months (when you had it planned for anyway). But it doesn't PROVE that the beer doesn't exist except for the GABF; which is my point.
I'm not surprised, with you sitting in that squid kettle. It won't escape me when I cash the check in about two weeks.
Lew Bryson wrote: : "Bill Benzel" wrote in message news:sDb0f.463 :> Lew Bryson wrote: :> : Bill, take a look at who judges these beers. Over half the judges come :> from :> : Colorado and west (Mountain state judges are always the biggest group, :> no :> : real surprise). The East Coast (New England and the mid-Atlantic region) :> : puts up about 15% of the judges (really, I have the numbers, I'm not :> : guessing). I'm NOT saying that the judges are in a conspiracy, but what :> I am :> : saying is that people gravitate towards liking what they drink on a :> steady :> : basis. Western site for the festival, Western judges drinking Western :> beers :> : (and they do, much more so than we in the East drink solely Eastern :> beers), :> : Western beers win medals. I do not think that it's any surprising :> : coincidence that Denver and Boulder together have --over the entire :> history :> : of the GABF -- won more medals than any other city. Conspiracy? No, :> : inevitable playing of the odds. :> : :>
:> Of course there's no possibility that SN brewed up a small batch of :> Bigfoot just to enter at GABF, is there? Only the little brewpubs do :> that -- you know, the guys who never have the beer that won their gold :> medal when you seek them out. SN wouldn't do that now, would they? : : Um...No. I doubt it. Truly. I recognize that I could be wrong. Anything : else? : :> I had the opportunity to be a steward at the World Beer Cup -- got to be :> in a room with a hell of a lot of bottles from a hell of a lot of :> places. I saw and handled bottles from well known commercial breweries :> with contents representing their well known flagship brews and said :> bottles had handwritten labels on them. So, at a minimum, some special :> care in handling was taken. I can only speculate as to whether the :> contents were drawn from a "regular" batch on not. : : Obviously, you already have. I'm not at all convinced by this. Old : hand-bottling habits die hard. : :> Last October my vacation conincided with the release of the GABF winners :> list. We made side trips to a lot of the winners sites and asked for he :> specific beers that had won medals. If memory serves me correctly I :> think maybe 30 to 40 percent of the beers we specifically asked for were :> unavailable. : : And again, I'm not sure I see what this proves. I've NEVER understood why : this "proves" that breweries make "special" batches just for GABF. All it : "proves" is that breweries DON'T simply send the beers they made in the past : three months to GABF. On the other hand, if a brewery DOES have a special : batch that turns out particularly well, they'd be fools not to put some : aside for GABF. I do know of a number of brewpubs who DO save GABF-winning : batches to serve around the holidays; is there a particular reason why they : should serve them right after GABF? It escapes me. : : Just because you were disappointed with Bigfoot lately doesn't mean everyone : was. Taste is subjective, and variations in personal taste are common. No : news, I'm sure, but... :
Lew,
First off, I'm just stating facts as I see 'em, not trying to "prove" a damn thing. I also am not passing judgement on the behavior that I see as a possibility. Hell, I'm not above doing the same thing in the same situation as long as it's not against the rules. And I don't know what the rules are as far as the GABF goes.
Second, I never said a damn thing about being disappointed in Bigfoot lately -- If I did, point me to the post. I like Bigfoot and though I don't nab cases any more like I did when I lived in PA that's because a.) there are a lot more good barleywines available than there were 10 years ago and b.) I no longer live in a place where a case is the minimum size I can buy. We get bottles and draft Bigfoot here and I buy a sixpack or two every year when it shows up and sample the draft as well. I have also had cask conditioned Bigfoot at Toronado and that was definitely the antithesis of s**te.
Why not? Todd, sorry to burst your bubble here, but you and Jason are hardly anything to fear(anyone can shave their head and grow a goatee Todd). What? Do you fancy yourself "goons"? Are you saying, that Scott really does not want this to come to blows, because you might kick his ass, or you are just saying this is something petty to argue over? I hope for YOUR sake the latter. If not? It makes you a baboon. I saw you and your bro a few years back at a beer fest in RI, and you and Jason are hardly intimidating. Some might say the only thing "tough" about you two, is you are tough to look at. BeerAdvocate has come a LONG way since it was "two fun loving homebrewing brothers" with a little website, but keep in mind, you still play to a very selective audience, and some of us who have been around for a while? We really aren't too impressed with your little website, no matter how popular it has gotten.
No Todd, you DO NOT have to "respect" beer. This is a foolish notion. I share your passion, but NO, beer does not have to be respected, anymore than any other product. RESPECT Mustard! RESPECT Twinkies! As Scott says, people make choices in this world Todd, and some people, don't chose beer, and will NEVER respect it, no matter how much you and I do. Try to wrap your head around that, and can the fako, tough guy, macho bravado bullshit. Scott might drop you quicker than shit though a goose.
My inference is off, I guess, but that doesn't look like "just stating facts" and it does sound a bit judgmental.
Now there, I owe you an apology: the OP was "Bill Bradley" (who WAS disappointed in Bigfoot), you picked up the thread right in the middle as he disappeared, and the similarity in names threw me. Sorry, Bill.
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