The Official Modern Times League Of Partygoers & Elegant People Thread
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Xul1
Well-Known Member
November 2019 Preview Tasting
Assorted Notes:
1) Leanne was in Santa Ana, and Steven was sick, so Andrew hosted with a special guest - Teddy Gowan from Societe. For having never experienced the madness of a League preview tasting, Teddy did a great job of jumping into the fire and keeping up with Andrew. Or keeping up as much as anyone could be expected to. Between the tangential dissertation on bananas and the encouragement to drop acid right then and there, it was a rather free-form evening. I'm not going to say we needed some adult supervision, but we probably needed some adult supervision. Never a good sign when even I, of all people, feel like things are getting a bit off the rails.
2) Andrew also decided to have some fun at my expense by calling me up to sign a bottle of Fellowship of Xul, ostensibly for Jacob. If you don't get that bottle, Jacob, Andrew has some explaining to do. If instead, it shows up on MBC, I'm going to be very disappointed. Not angry, just disappointed.
3) The Black House Black Friday beer list for the San Diego event is completely outrageous. If you haven't bought your ticket yet, get on it. It's my favorite Modern Times event of the year, and this looks to be the best yet. Seriously, what else are you going to do that morning? Trample grandmothers at WalMart for a ****** flatscreen TV? Come beat back your Thanksgiving hangover with some nice, refreshing imperial stouts. I've done every Black House Black Friday, and I can safely say there's no better way to spend the day.
4) New public slots for the 2020 League sold out in under a minute on Saturday. I expected them to go quickly, but damn, that was impressive. A huge congrats to everyone at Modern Times. I think many of us would agree that this club is unmatched in the beer world right now, and it's great to see the public continue to catch on to the awesomeness.
5) If you've been enjoying Foeder Ice - and I hope you have, because it's straight fire - Andrew mentioned that we'll be seeing another variant coming out soon, as well as some other foeder-aged lagers. I'm pretty fond of this development, although I'm still hoping for a 10% ABV doppelbock called Export Jurgenbrau so I can finally reach my full potential of being a walking, talking Mitchell & Webb skit.
6) There were some questions earlier about the flavor profile of the barrels used for Beastermaster Aged in Malt Whiskey Barrels. It's going to be reasonably similar to bourbon, although a bit maltier since bourbon has a significant corn component. Think a mashup of bourbon and single malt whiskey. I'm pretty stoked for it, as I think the barrel profile will play well with the Beastmaster base.
7) Pimping another beer we didn't get to try - don't sleep on Starbelt. Everyone knows Abaddon is going to slay, but the Starbelt pilot batch was a crushable hoppy lager back in May, and I'm guessing the canned batch will be even more refined. Summer may be over, but there's never an inappropriate time to slam back cans of hoppy lager.
Assorted Notes:
1) Leanne was in Santa Ana, and Steven was sick, so Andrew hosted with a special guest - Teddy Gowan from Societe. For having never experienced the madness of a League preview tasting, Teddy did a great job of jumping into the fire and keeping up with Andrew. Or keeping up as much as anyone could be expected to. Between the tangential dissertation on bananas and the encouragement to drop acid right then and there, it was a rather free-form evening. I'm not going to say we needed some adult supervision, but we probably needed some adult supervision. Never a good sign when even I, of all people, feel like things are getting a bit off the rails.
2) Andrew also decided to have some fun at my expense by calling me up to sign a bottle of Fellowship of Xul, ostensibly for Jacob. If you don't get that bottle, Jacob, Andrew has some explaining to do. If instead, it shows up on MBC, I'm going to be very disappointed. Not angry, just disappointed.
3) The Black House Black Friday beer list for the San Diego event is completely outrageous. If you haven't bought your ticket yet, get on it. It's my favorite Modern Times event of the year, and this looks to be the best yet. Seriously, what else are you going to do that morning? Trample grandmothers at WalMart for a ****** flatscreen TV? Come beat back your Thanksgiving hangover with some nice, refreshing imperial stouts. I've done every Black House Black Friday, and I can safely say there's no better way to spend the day.
4) New public slots for the 2020 League sold out in under a minute on Saturday. I expected them to go quickly, but damn, that was impressive. A huge congrats to everyone at Modern Times. I think many of us would agree that this club is unmatched in the beer world right now, and it's great to see the public continue to catch on to the awesomeness.
5) If you've been enjoying Foeder Ice - and I hope you have, because it's straight fire - Andrew mentioned that we'll be seeing another variant coming out soon, as well as some other foeder-aged lagers. I'm pretty fond of this development, although I'm still hoping for a 10% ABV doppelbock called Export Jurgenbrau so I can finally reach my full potential of being a walking, talking Mitchell & Webb skit.
6) There were some questions earlier about the flavor profile of the barrels used for Beastermaster Aged in Malt Whiskey Barrels. It's going to be reasonably similar to bourbon, although a bit maltier since bourbon has a significant corn component. Think a mashup of bourbon and single malt whiskey. I'm pretty stoked for it, as I think the barrel profile will play well with the Beastmaster base.
7) Pimping another beer we didn't get to try - don't sleep on Starbelt. Everyone knows Abaddon is going to slay, but the Starbelt pilot batch was a crushable hoppy lager back in May, and I'm guessing the canned batch will be even more refined. Summer may be over, but there's never an inappropriate time to slam back cans of hoppy lager.
Xul1
Well-Known Member
The Beverages:
1) Radix: Roxbury Russet Single-Varietal Cider
Style: Cider
Score: 4.25
Notes: Roxbury Russet apples are an heirloom varietal and generally recognized as the oldest apple variety to originate in North America. Neat. Modern Times sourced the juice from EZ Orchards in Oregon, then fermented it with funky house cultures and aged it in red wine barrels for six months. The nose opens with bright, lightly acidic apple juice followed by mild to moderate funk - hay, horse blanket, and fresh sod. Light oak wafts around in the background with touches of vanilla. The palate opens with a flash of lactic acidity, followed by bright, lightly-sweetened apples and barnyardy funk - less sod/earth, more hay. An assertive wave of barrel character comes through towards the backend with oak and vanilla, rounding out the apples and providing a touch of body and sweetness to the finish. This is probably my favorite from the Radix series so far, excellent fruit profile, and the funk melds nicely with it.
2) At Long Last
Style: West Coast Double IPA
Score: 4.25 (4.35)
Notes: The goal with this was to use Societe's The Pupil as a rough starting point, bulk it up, and add a bit of a Modern Times twist. To that end, they laid down a grain bill of 2-row, oat malt, and white wheat, fermented it with Chico yeast, and hopped it with Nelson, Citra, and Centennial. It's safe to say they hit their mark as the beer practically leaped out of the glass at first sniff with orange, tangerine, papaya, light white wine, and resinous pine sap all weaved around. Bits of boozy heat poked through but were neither distracting nor stylistically out of place for a WC DIPA. A firm but restrained bitterness hits the tongue first, followed by tropical fruits - mango, papaya, guava - and a less assertive citrus profile than the nose with orange zest and tangerines. White wine and gooseberry float in the background along with pine resin. The oats and wheat provide a bit more body and sweetness than your typical WC DIPA, but it doesn't drift anywhere near NE IPA territory. Those of you that have been clamoring for some WC action should be pleased with this one.
3) Beastmaster: Rum Banana Sundae Edition
Style: Rum Barrel-Aged Stout w/ Bananas, Peanuts, Vanilla, & Cocoa Nibs
Score: 4.5
Notes: It seems like this was the biggest question mark of the month for a lot of people, but have no fear - it's a certified slapper. They blended Beastmaster that had been aged in both Jamaican and San Diegan rum barrels for twelve months, then added dried heirloom Thai bananas at a rate of 7.8 lbs/bbl, roasted salted peanuts at a rate of 4.7 lbs/bbl, Mexican cocoa nibs at 3.1 lbs/bbl, and Mexican vanilla at just over 1 lb/bbl. Banana opens the aroma immediately, standing out but not overwhelming, with a character that's easily recognizable as dried, yet richer and more complex than you'd get out of the dried food bins at Sprouts. More banana depth and touches of allspice and nutmeg, it's interesting how nuanced it is in the context of such a powerful beer. Salty peanuts follow quickly, along with vanilla, dark cocoa, and smooth rum barrel notes. The rum really plays well here, displaying none of the harshness that Jamaican rum barrels have imparted in some beers. The flavor takes on considerably more rum barrel influence as it opens with big, syrupy dark fruits - dates, figs, and touches of sweet grapes - that are quickly subsumed by a wave of sweet dark chocolate. Beastmaster doesn't mess around; it asserts itself. Vanilla and peanuts come through on the mid-palate, while banana is subtle, but playing its part before a long, sweet finish of boozy, rum-dipped chocolate takes over. They really hit the mark on this one.
4) Cloud Daggers
Style: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter w/ Maple Syrup Roasted Pecans, Cocoa Nibs, & Vanilla
Score: 4.25 (4.15)
Notes: As with last year's batch, Cloud Daggers is an imperial porter aged for nine months in bourbon barrels, to which they added maple syrup, maple-roasted pecans, cocoa nibs, and vanilla. For this year's version, they increased the vanilla significantly and dialed back the pecans slightly. Those changes are immediately evident as vanilla dominates with a sweet, fruity character, followed by maple, toasty pecans, sweet milk chocolate, velvety bourbon, and light oak in the background. Bourbon and rich, semisweet cocoa lead on the palate, providing a canvas for vanilla, maple, and subtle pecans. The cocoa provides a drying balance to the sweeter vanilla character, preventing the beer from drifting in a cloying direction. Medium-bodied - in the context of modern stouts, anyway - although following Beastmaster made it seem drier than it really is. I would've liked to see the maple and pecans take on a bigger role, as the vanilla is quite dominant and creates a linear sweetness. Enjoyable for what it is, but it doesn't really hold my interest.
5) Valley of Sound
Style: Red Wine Barrel-Aged Sour Blond w/ Peaches
Score: 4.5
Notes: Get your helmets, kids, the peaches are loose and comin' for your skull. The base here is a blend of blond sours aged in red wine barrels for anywhere from eighteen months to three years, which they refermented with Flavorcrest peaches from Masumoto Farms at a rate of four pounds per gallon. Masumoto fruits are basically a cheat code for beer, and this is no exception. Peach takes command of the nose and never lets up, with the full spectrum from skin to flesh to juice all on display, rendering both a breadth of depth that provides a borderline-sensual experience. Barnyard-driven funk manages to poke through the fruit, along with light acidity, oak, and a faint blue cheese that only occasionally shows itself. The palate is a bit more balanced, as acidity takes a slightly stronger role - although it's still entirely restrained - that leaves plenty of space for the peaches without letting them overwhelm. Flesh and skin lead the fruit side, with less juice than the nose, while oak, hints of vanilla, and light funk complement the fruit profile. As dominant as the peaches are, the base manages to weave an interesting story and prevent the beer from being simplistic or linear. Nonetheless, the fruit is the star of the show here, as Masumoto peaches tend to be.
6) Palace of Paper Sacks
Style: Red Wine Barrel-Aged Sour Blond w/ Nectarines
Score: 4 (4.1)
Notes: Using roughly the same base blend as Valley of Sound, they added yellow nectarines from Sunny Cal Farms at a rate of four pounds per gallon. The aroma opens with fleshy nectarine, a good dose of skin, and just a mild, juicy aspect. Moderate acidity, funk, and light oak follow with a bigger and more balanced role than in Valley of Sound. Nectarines assert themselves more on the palate with just a touch more juice, but the fruit's more acidic nature causes it to stand out less and integrate more into the beer's character. A bit oakier and less funky, with an acidity that's moderate but certainly brighter than Valley of Sound. Where that was dominated by fruit, this is a well-integrated wild ale with an enjoyable but restrained nectarine contribution. In some ways, I think trying Valley of Sound first hurt my impression of this beer and perhaps is coloring my scoring a bit. This is a damn good beer on its own, but it's hard to stand up to that Masumoto greatness. Don't sleep on this just because it's the lesser of the two, it's well worth the price of admission.
1) Radix: Roxbury Russet Single-Varietal Cider
Style: Cider
Score: 4.25
Notes: Roxbury Russet apples are an heirloom varietal and generally recognized as the oldest apple variety to originate in North America. Neat. Modern Times sourced the juice from EZ Orchards in Oregon, then fermented it with funky house cultures and aged it in red wine barrels for six months. The nose opens with bright, lightly acidic apple juice followed by mild to moderate funk - hay, horse blanket, and fresh sod. Light oak wafts around in the background with touches of vanilla. The palate opens with a flash of lactic acidity, followed by bright, lightly-sweetened apples and barnyardy funk - less sod/earth, more hay. An assertive wave of barrel character comes through towards the backend with oak and vanilla, rounding out the apples and providing a touch of body and sweetness to the finish. This is probably my favorite from the Radix series so far, excellent fruit profile, and the funk melds nicely with it.
2) At Long Last
Style: West Coast Double IPA
Score: 4.25 (4.35)
Notes: The goal with this was to use Societe's The Pupil as a rough starting point, bulk it up, and add a bit of a Modern Times twist. To that end, they laid down a grain bill of 2-row, oat malt, and white wheat, fermented it with Chico yeast, and hopped it with Nelson, Citra, and Centennial. It's safe to say they hit their mark as the beer practically leaped out of the glass at first sniff with orange, tangerine, papaya, light white wine, and resinous pine sap all weaved around. Bits of boozy heat poked through but were neither distracting nor stylistically out of place for a WC DIPA. A firm but restrained bitterness hits the tongue first, followed by tropical fruits - mango, papaya, guava - and a less assertive citrus profile than the nose with orange zest and tangerines. White wine and gooseberry float in the background along with pine resin. The oats and wheat provide a bit more body and sweetness than your typical WC DIPA, but it doesn't drift anywhere near NE IPA territory. Those of you that have been clamoring for some WC action should be pleased with this one.
3) Beastmaster: Rum Banana Sundae Edition
Style: Rum Barrel-Aged Stout w/ Bananas, Peanuts, Vanilla, & Cocoa Nibs
Score: 4.5
Notes: It seems like this was the biggest question mark of the month for a lot of people, but have no fear - it's a certified slapper. They blended Beastmaster that had been aged in both Jamaican and San Diegan rum barrels for twelve months, then added dried heirloom Thai bananas at a rate of 7.8 lbs/bbl, roasted salted peanuts at a rate of 4.7 lbs/bbl, Mexican cocoa nibs at 3.1 lbs/bbl, and Mexican vanilla at just over 1 lb/bbl. Banana opens the aroma immediately, standing out but not overwhelming, with a character that's easily recognizable as dried, yet richer and more complex than you'd get out of the dried food bins at Sprouts. More banana depth and touches of allspice and nutmeg, it's interesting how nuanced it is in the context of such a powerful beer. Salty peanuts follow quickly, along with vanilla, dark cocoa, and smooth rum barrel notes. The rum really plays well here, displaying none of the harshness that Jamaican rum barrels have imparted in some beers. The flavor takes on considerably more rum barrel influence as it opens with big, syrupy dark fruits - dates, figs, and touches of sweet grapes - that are quickly subsumed by a wave of sweet dark chocolate. Beastmaster doesn't mess around; it asserts itself. Vanilla and peanuts come through on the mid-palate, while banana is subtle, but playing its part before a long, sweet finish of boozy, rum-dipped chocolate takes over. They really hit the mark on this one.
4) Cloud Daggers
Style: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter w/ Maple Syrup Roasted Pecans, Cocoa Nibs, & Vanilla
Score: 4.25 (4.15)
Notes: As with last year's batch, Cloud Daggers is an imperial porter aged for nine months in bourbon barrels, to which they added maple syrup, maple-roasted pecans, cocoa nibs, and vanilla. For this year's version, they increased the vanilla significantly and dialed back the pecans slightly. Those changes are immediately evident as vanilla dominates with a sweet, fruity character, followed by maple, toasty pecans, sweet milk chocolate, velvety bourbon, and light oak in the background. Bourbon and rich, semisweet cocoa lead on the palate, providing a canvas for vanilla, maple, and subtle pecans. The cocoa provides a drying balance to the sweeter vanilla character, preventing the beer from drifting in a cloying direction. Medium-bodied - in the context of modern stouts, anyway - although following Beastmaster made it seem drier than it really is. I would've liked to see the maple and pecans take on a bigger role, as the vanilla is quite dominant and creates a linear sweetness. Enjoyable for what it is, but it doesn't really hold my interest.
5) Valley of Sound
Style: Red Wine Barrel-Aged Sour Blond w/ Peaches
Score: 4.5
Notes: Get your helmets, kids, the peaches are loose and comin' for your skull. The base here is a blend of blond sours aged in red wine barrels for anywhere from eighteen months to three years, which they refermented with Flavorcrest peaches from Masumoto Farms at a rate of four pounds per gallon. Masumoto fruits are basically a cheat code for beer, and this is no exception. Peach takes command of the nose and never lets up, with the full spectrum from skin to flesh to juice all on display, rendering both a breadth of depth that provides a borderline-sensual experience. Barnyard-driven funk manages to poke through the fruit, along with light acidity, oak, and a faint blue cheese that only occasionally shows itself. The palate is a bit more balanced, as acidity takes a slightly stronger role - although it's still entirely restrained - that leaves plenty of space for the peaches without letting them overwhelm. Flesh and skin lead the fruit side, with less juice than the nose, while oak, hints of vanilla, and light funk complement the fruit profile. As dominant as the peaches are, the base manages to weave an interesting story and prevent the beer from being simplistic or linear. Nonetheless, the fruit is the star of the show here, as Masumoto peaches tend to be.
6) Palace of Paper Sacks
Style: Red Wine Barrel-Aged Sour Blond w/ Nectarines
Score: 4 (4.1)
Notes: Using roughly the same base blend as Valley of Sound, they added yellow nectarines from Sunny Cal Farms at a rate of four pounds per gallon. The aroma opens with fleshy nectarine, a good dose of skin, and just a mild, juicy aspect. Moderate acidity, funk, and light oak follow with a bigger and more balanced role than in Valley of Sound. Nectarines assert themselves more on the palate with just a touch more juice, but the fruit's more acidic nature causes it to stand out less and integrate more into the beer's character. A bit oakier and less funky, with an acidity that's moderate but certainly brighter than Valley of Sound. Where that was dominated by fruit, this is a well-integrated wild ale with an enjoyable but restrained nectarine contribution. In some ways, I think trying Valley of Sound first hurt my impression of this beer and perhaps is coloring my scoring a bit. This is a damn good beer on its own, but it's hard to stand up to that Masumoto greatness. Don't sleep on this just because it's the lesser of the two, it's well worth the price of admission.
rcubed1
Well-Known Member
Tyrsis
Well-Known Member
Man, Rum Beastmaster was gross.
Societe collab was fantastic.
Both sours are probably the best sours MT has done to date.
Societe collab was fantastic.
Both sours are probably the best sours MT has done to date.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
yabu
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2015
- Messages
- 88
- Reaction score
- 83
The rum was too strong? or the banana?
Tyrsis
Well-Known Member
I find all of their Jamaican Rum beers to be too overwhelming. That funk seems to dominate for me, I could barely pick anything else out. Which is funny, because I love rum - I just don't like that profile with these beers. They feel like a mess.
I'm always opposite of you with the rum beers. I've loved their jamaican rum barrel beers, and unlike you, I don't generally love rum (on its own). It's fine and all, but I rarely ever drink it other than mai tais or dumped in cola. But hey, tastes vary and all that.
yabu
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2015
- Messages
- 88
- Reaction score
- 83
noted, copy that.
I also generally don't enjoy rum. Even less, when its a beer aged in rum barrels. Though there are some outliers where the rum is mild. I'm surprised once in a while. Banana and rum sounds like a good combo though.
rcubed1
Well-Known Member
Just wait til brewer's realize they can get banana flavors from yeast!
Tyrsis
Well-Known Member
it's a different type of banana flavor tbhJust wait til brewer's realize they can get banana flavors from yeast!
Tyrsis
Well-Known Member
- Gin Ice: boring. Why waste gin barrels on a pilsner?
- Chaos Grid 4Roses: ******* amazing. Sleep on this at your own peril
- Wizard Blend: this was fine, but having it right after Chaos does it a disservice. Need to have it again.
- Nectarnomicbullshit: this isnt beer, its ******* fruit puree. Wish they wouldnt serve this at tastings. That being said, it was decent. If it came in a Kerns Nectar can I wouldn't know the difference.
- Mega Space Ways: this was great, but again; why serve this at a tasting? It's a distro'd can. Who needs to "preview" this? 14 beers in this release, and they serve one that is a crowler only, unfermented fruit bomb waiting to happen, and a wide distro can? Makes no damned sense.
rcubed1
Well-Known Member
riko1
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2015
- Messages
- 336
- Reaction score
- 1,010
You'll never get a beer named after you with notes like that haha.
I thought this happened with Cloud Daggers last month, too, when it followed Beastmaster rum sundae. Cloud Daggers tasted watery and thin, which it isn't.
rcubed1
Well-Known Member
Hard seltzer palate cleansers?
Tyrsis
Well-Known Member
Xul1
Well-Known Member
Is there anyone over here who cares about my tasting notes but doesn't read them on BA or Facebook? If not, I'm fine with not copying them over here, I've merely done so out of habit. Hell, if anyone wants me to keep copying them over just to laugh at them, that's fine too - not something I'm going to get butthurt about. Anyway, if anyone still cares about them being copied over here, speak up and I'll continue doing so after this month.
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December Preview Tasting
Assorted Notes:
1 - Leanne and Steven hosted the Monday tasting in the new warehouse adjacent to the brewery, which has considerably more free space than the Fortress of Raditude (for now, anyway). I loved having all the metal of the empty cans around, but it was a bit bright and spacious for my tastes. If they could come up with a venue redolent of fetid caves and oppressive darkness, that would be delightful. Call it The Void of Infinite Desolation. Think of the cost savings when you don't have to spend a dime on lighting or decorations. I have a feeling they're going to see this, tape a laser-printed sign on a mop closet, and tell me to go nuts, but you know what? I'll take it.
2 - Before I dive into tonight's tasting, I wanted to touch briefly on Black House Black Friday since I neglected to post thoughts on it over the holiday weekend. First and foremost, kudos to Derek and the team for shifting the event over to the new warehouse on pretty short notice - the space ended up being excellent, in my opinion. Not overly crowded, comfortable inside without the risk of rain or wind, and plenty of spots to sit with benches and tables moved inside. More importantly, the beer lineup might've been the most insane stout list MT has thrown down. Every year I feel like BHBF sets an unbeatable standard, and every year, they prove me wrong. My personal highlights as far as new beers were BA Monsters' Park: Coconut Coffee Cake Edition (this needs to be bottled), BA Monsters' Park: All the Coconut Edition, BA Beastmaster: Luxury Edition, and Fellowship of Xul: Banana Sundae Edition (totally unbiased, of course), but there was more insanely good beer than you could hope to get to. Seriously, I love living on a timeline where not only are there several new incredible stouts to try, but Monster Tones, Date Shake, and Espresso Macaroon last all afternoon. To say we're spoiled is a colossal understatement. The team as a whole - Events, Special Projects, Production, Hospitality/FoH, League, and the assorted other employees who jumped in to help out - deserves a huge round of applause. BHBF has been my favorite MT event for several years now, and this year's edition only served to reinforce that.
3 - We were reminded that we have until 12/23 to use our included bar credit. Last year, some people saved theirs, hoping for a special crowler or something, but that led to a lot of people showing up in the final week, kicking kegs left and right. If you still have your credit, use it. If you're not going to make it to a tasting room between now and then, have a proxy use it. It's good for tasters, full pours, and crowlers - you've got three weeks, and you've been warned.
4 - On the events front, the Holiday Market is coming up on 12/15 at Lomaland, where a variety of local artists and vendors will have all sorts of stuff on offer. If you care enough about anyone to give them a Christmas gift, this is an excellent opportunity to get them something considerably nicer than whatever random **** you'd otherwise order for them from Amazon. There's also a PDX edition of the Holiday Market at Belmont on the same date. Those of you who live elsewhere will have to tell your loved ones they don't get anything for Christmas. Sucks for them.
5 - If Christmas isn't your jam, Lomaland will be hosting a Shalomaland party on 12/26. I haven't seen details as of yet, but past editions had a couple of unique beers and a pretty rad food truck. Honestly, though, do the details matter? By the 26th, you're going to be sick to death of celebrating Christmas with family and ready to kick it with the MT crew for some excellent brews.
6 - If you thought you weren't ever going to see rewards from your 2018 tasting room points, think again. Steven said tonight that they've worked out three tiers of rewards and should be officially announcing it soon(ish). Tier 1 will be a special t-shirt design, tier 2 will be a special bottled batch of beer that we'll have the opportunity to purchase at cost (giving us beer would be illegal, so they have to charge us), and tier 3 will be a blending competition. The actual rewards won't be happening before the end of the year, but even if you decided not to renew as a member, they're planning to offer the rewards to those who earned them, provided your email address still works.
7 - The rest of our included bottles for 2019 are being released this month. This question has come up several times in the League FB group, and yes, everything we were promised either has been delivered or will be next week. If you were concerned that Modern Times was going to abscond with a portion of your League membership fee, you can rest easy.
8 - The note about Chaos Grid: Quadruple Flowers containing the final barrel of Devil's Teeth ever raised many questions, and I specifically asked why it was discontinued in favor of Mega Devil's Teeth. The reasoning is that it was too dry and thin after barrel aging and "didn't stand up to modern stout expectations." I certainly don't blame Modern Times for understanding and serving their market, but I'll just present that answer without any further comment, since most of what I have to say would seem hilariously hypocritical coming from someone with a pastry stout named after them.
----------
December Preview Tasting
Assorted Notes:
1 - Leanne and Steven hosted the Monday tasting in the new warehouse adjacent to the brewery, which has considerably more free space than the Fortress of Raditude (for now, anyway). I loved having all the metal of the empty cans around, but it was a bit bright and spacious for my tastes. If they could come up with a venue redolent of fetid caves and oppressive darkness, that would be delightful. Call it The Void of Infinite Desolation. Think of the cost savings when you don't have to spend a dime on lighting or decorations. I have a feeling they're going to see this, tape a laser-printed sign on a mop closet, and tell me to go nuts, but you know what? I'll take it.
2 - Before I dive into tonight's tasting, I wanted to touch briefly on Black House Black Friday since I neglected to post thoughts on it over the holiday weekend. First and foremost, kudos to Derek and the team for shifting the event over to the new warehouse on pretty short notice - the space ended up being excellent, in my opinion. Not overly crowded, comfortable inside without the risk of rain or wind, and plenty of spots to sit with benches and tables moved inside. More importantly, the beer lineup might've been the most insane stout list MT has thrown down. Every year I feel like BHBF sets an unbeatable standard, and every year, they prove me wrong. My personal highlights as far as new beers were BA Monsters' Park: Coconut Coffee Cake Edition (this needs to be bottled), BA Monsters' Park: All the Coconut Edition, BA Beastmaster: Luxury Edition, and Fellowship of Xul: Banana Sundae Edition (totally unbiased, of course), but there was more insanely good beer than you could hope to get to. Seriously, I love living on a timeline where not only are there several new incredible stouts to try, but Monster Tones, Date Shake, and Espresso Macaroon last all afternoon. To say we're spoiled is a colossal understatement. The team as a whole - Events, Special Projects, Production, Hospitality/FoH, League, and the assorted other employees who jumped in to help out - deserves a huge round of applause. BHBF has been my favorite MT event for several years now, and this year's edition only served to reinforce that.
3 - We were reminded that we have until 12/23 to use our included bar credit. Last year, some people saved theirs, hoping for a special crowler or something, but that led to a lot of people showing up in the final week, kicking kegs left and right. If you still have your credit, use it. If you're not going to make it to a tasting room between now and then, have a proxy use it. It's good for tasters, full pours, and crowlers - you've got three weeks, and you've been warned.
4 - On the events front, the Holiday Market is coming up on 12/15 at Lomaland, where a variety of local artists and vendors will have all sorts of stuff on offer. If you care enough about anyone to give them a Christmas gift, this is an excellent opportunity to get them something considerably nicer than whatever random **** you'd otherwise order for them from Amazon. There's also a PDX edition of the Holiday Market at Belmont on the same date. Those of you who live elsewhere will have to tell your loved ones they don't get anything for Christmas. Sucks for them.
5 - If Christmas isn't your jam, Lomaland will be hosting a Shalomaland party on 12/26. I haven't seen details as of yet, but past editions had a couple of unique beers and a pretty rad food truck. Honestly, though, do the details matter? By the 26th, you're going to be sick to death of celebrating Christmas with family and ready to kick it with the MT crew for some excellent brews.
6 - If you thought you weren't ever going to see rewards from your 2018 tasting room points, think again. Steven said tonight that they've worked out three tiers of rewards and should be officially announcing it soon(ish). Tier 1 will be a special t-shirt design, tier 2 will be a special bottled batch of beer that we'll have the opportunity to purchase at cost (giving us beer would be illegal, so they have to charge us), and tier 3 will be a blending competition. The actual rewards won't be happening before the end of the year, but even if you decided not to renew as a member, they're planning to offer the rewards to those who earned them, provided your email address still works.
7 - The rest of our included bottles for 2019 are being released this month. This question has come up several times in the League FB group, and yes, everything we were promised either has been delivered or will be next week. If you were concerned that Modern Times was going to abscond with a portion of your League membership fee, you can rest easy.
8 - The note about Chaos Grid: Quadruple Flowers containing the final barrel of Devil's Teeth ever raised many questions, and I specifically asked why it was discontinued in favor of Mega Devil's Teeth. The reasoning is that it was too dry and thin after barrel aging and "didn't stand up to modern stout expectations." I certainly don't blame Modern Times for understanding and serving their market, but I'll just present that answer without any further comment, since most of what I have to say would seem hilariously hypocritical coming from someone with a pastry stout named after them.
Xul1
Well-Known Member
The Beers:
1 - Slow Ice Aged in Stonecutter Gin Barrels
Style: Pilsner Aged in Gin Barrels
Score: 4
Notes: If you're wondering, Stonecutter isn't a clever nickname for a spirit brand, like Bovine Outline or Quadruple Flowers - it's an actual distillery in Vermont. MT was given permission to use the brand on the label, as the brewery and distillery are on friendly terms. For this batch, Ice was added to freshly emptied gin barrels, aged for roughly three and a half months, then bottle conditioned with funky house cultures. Considering the jump in ABV from 4.8% to 8.5%, I'm assuming these barrels were quite wet when Modern Times got their hands on them. Unsurprisingly, the aroma is dominated by gin botanicals - juniper, sweet orange peel, coriander, eucalyptus, and tea - along with more subtle grainy white bread, light oak, grassy noble hops, and a faint boozy note. On the palate, juniper leads, followed by orange peel, eucalyptus, licorice root, and orange peel. Oak, earthy funk, and mildly-sweet grains come in on the mid-palate, giving way to a finish of botanicals, fresh sod, and white bread. I'm curious to see what this does with time as the house cultures have more time to work, but in its current form, it's dominated by the gin barrel character. I feel like a more interesting base would've benefited more from the gin barrels. Certainly a good beer for what it is - and slightly better than the draft batch of Ice Aged in Gin Barrels - but as it stands, I'd still prefer to drink Foeder Ice or regular Ice.
2 - Chaos Grid: Quadruple Flowers
Style: Blend of Imperial Stouts + Barleywine Aged in Four Roses Barrels
Score: 4.35
Notes: This is the first edition of Chaos Grid not to feature any adjuncts, and per a question I had asked, the series isn't intended to be anything other than a playground for interesting blends. CG: Quadruple Flowers features one barrel each of five bases, each aged in Four Roses barrels - Devil's Teeth (aged three years), Beastmaster (aged thirteen months), Infinity Gauntlet (aged fifteen months), Dragon Mask (aged 22 months), and Suggestion of Mass (aged fifteen months). The barrel-centric nature of this blend is readily apparent as rich bourbon character leads on the nose with barrel-derived vanilla, marshmallow, moderate boozy notes, sweet dark cherries, and oak. The base blend asserts itself well, though, presenting semisweet chocolate and dark cocoa, brown sugar, molasses, lightly-burnt caramel, and touches of leather. The flavor follows a similar path as a burst of boozy bourbon leads along with a wave of vanilla, giving way to semisweet chocolate, brown sugar, leather, caramel, and a big blast of marshmallow on the palate. Oak, touches of alcohol burn, and faint dark cherries present a boozy edge to a long finish of marshmallowy dark chocolate. The body is a bit drier than you'd expect for a blend that's 60% pastry stout, but that's hardly a detriment, in my opinion, as it allows more of the barrel-derived nuance to shine through. Delicious blend, but a touch boozier than I'd prefer.
3 - Wizard Blend 2019
Style: Megablend of Stouts & Barleywines Aged in a Variety of Barrels
Score: 4.6
Notes: For those who are new to the League, Wizard Blend is a yearly blend with no specific target as far as style. The Special Projects team keeps track of prime barrels throughout the year, along with interest orphan barrels that didn't fit into other projects, and brings them together into a symphony of decadence. I'm not going to bother listing all the constituent beers since they're in the description we've received via email, but there are some rather interesting barrels in this year's blend. The aroma took several minutes to really sink in and process, as each whiff revealed different nuances in varying strengths and sequences - bourbon, brandy, mildly-smoky rum barrel, rich wood, leather, boozy figs and dates, marshmallow, semisweet chocolate, toffee, brown sugar, drying cocoa, and a vanilla note that really pops as the beer warms. The blend comes across as bit sweeter on the tongue, although still immensely balanced, with a melange of marshmallow, sweet dark chocolate, dark caramel, assertive bourbon, touches of wood, mild brandy and rum notes, leather, prunes, and figs wafting about. Bourbon, cocoa, vanilla, and marshmallow combine for a long, rich finish. The blend is certainly less stout-centric than in past years, which may not be a desirable change for some, but I was a big fan. My only real quibble is that I would've served it before Chaos Grid. While Wizard Blend has the higher ABV, Chaos Grid came across as bigger and bolder on the palate, which I have a feeling overwhelmed the nuance of Wizard Blend for some people.
4 - Nectarnomicon w/ Strawberry, Mango, & Vanilla
Style: Low-Alcohol Fruit Juice
Score: 4.4 (scored to the context of the style)
Notes: Writing complex tasting notes for this seems like an exercise in futility since it's a rather straightforward beverage - what you see is what you get. The nose is rich in both strawberry and mango at a roughly equal rate, while vanilla supports and provides a backing sweetness. Mango takes a stronger role on the palate, but strawberry is still present. Light acidity, but the vanilla and unfermented fruit keep it on the sweet end of the spectrum. The body on this one is roughly middle of the road by Nectarnomicon standards - not full-blown smoothie as a couple batches have been, but not thin, either. If you like Nectarnomicon in general, you should like this.
5 - Mega Space Ways
Style: Hazy DIPA
Score: 4.5
Notes: This isn't part of the sale, but due to the logistics of trying to ensure all locations end up sampling the same beers, it was included as the fifth taster for the evening. Space Ways has been absolutely killer this year, and Mega Space Ways kicks it up another notch. The aroma jumps out of the glass with resinous pine, white wine, oily citrus peel, sweet papaya and guava, and juicy stonefruit playing a supporting role. The flavor is more fruit-driven than the nose indicated, with guava, mango, and papaya hitting right off the bat, followed by dry white wine grapes, nectarine juice, very mild pine resin, and light grassy notes, before tropical fruit returns to dominate the finish. Perfect body for a hazy DIPA - smooth, but not pillowy, with restrained bitterness. This is probably the best distro haze Modern Times has done, don't sleep on it.
1 - Slow Ice Aged in Stonecutter Gin Barrels
Style: Pilsner Aged in Gin Barrels
Score: 4
Notes: If you're wondering, Stonecutter isn't a clever nickname for a spirit brand, like Bovine Outline or Quadruple Flowers - it's an actual distillery in Vermont. MT was given permission to use the brand on the label, as the brewery and distillery are on friendly terms. For this batch, Ice was added to freshly emptied gin barrels, aged for roughly three and a half months, then bottle conditioned with funky house cultures. Considering the jump in ABV from 4.8% to 8.5%, I'm assuming these barrels were quite wet when Modern Times got their hands on them. Unsurprisingly, the aroma is dominated by gin botanicals - juniper, sweet orange peel, coriander, eucalyptus, and tea - along with more subtle grainy white bread, light oak, grassy noble hops, and a faint boozy note. On the palate, juniper leads, followed by orange peel, eucalyptus, licorice root, and orange peel. Oak, earthy funk, and mildly-sweet grains come in on the mid-palate, giving way to a finish of botanicals, fresh sod, and white bread. I'm curious to see what this does with time as the house cultures have more time to work, but in its current form, it's dominated by the gin barrel character. I feel like a more interesting base would've benefited more from the gin barrels. Certainly a good beer for what it is - and slightly better than the draft batch of Ice Aged in Gin Barrels - but as it stands, I'd still prefer to drink Foeder Ice or regular Ice.
2 - Chaos Grid: Quadruple Flowers
Style: Blend of Imperial Stouts + Barleywine Aged in Four Roses Barrels
Score: 4.35
Notes: This is the first edition of Chaos Grid not to feature any adjuncts, and per a question I had asked, the series isn't intended to be anything other than a playground for interesting blends. CG: Quadruple Flowers features one barrel each of five bases, each aged in Four Roses barrels - Devil's Teeth (aged three years), Beastmaster (aged thirteen months), Infinity Gauntlet (aged fifteen months), Dragon Mask (aged 22 months), and Suggestion of Mass (aged fifteen months). The barrel-centric nature of this blend is readily apparent as rich bourbon character leads on the nose with barrel-derived vanilla, marshmallow, moderate boozy notes, sweet dark cherries, and oak. The base blend asserts itself well, though, presenting semisweet chocolate and dark cocoa, brown sugar, molasses, lightly-burnt caramel, and touches of leather. The flavor follows a similar path as a burst of boozy bourbon leads along with a wave of vanilla, giving way to semisweet chocolate, brown sugar, leather, caramel, and a big blast of marshmallow on the palate. Oak, touches of alcohol burn, and faint dark cherries present a boozy edge to a long finish of marshmallowy dark chocolate. The body is a bit drier than you'd expect for a blend that's 60% pastry stout, but that's hardly a detriment, in my opinion, as it allows more of the barrel-derived nuance to shine through. Delicious blend, but a touch boozier than I'd prefer.
3 - Wizard Blend 2019
Style: Megablend of Stouts & Barleywines Aged in a Variety of Barrels
Score: 4.6
Notes: For those who are new to the League, Wizard Blend is a yearly blend with no specific target as far as style. The Special Projects team keeps track of prime barrels throughout the year, along with interest orphan barrels that didn't fit into other projects, and brings them together into a symphony of decadence. I'm not going to bother listing all the constituent beers since they're in the description we've received via email, but there are some rather interesting barrels in this year's blend. The aroma took several minutes to really sink in and process, as each whiff revealed different nuances in varying strengths and sequences - bourbon, brandy, mildly-smoky rum barrel, rich wood, leather, boozy figs and dates, marshmallow, semisweet chocolate, toffee, brown sugar, drying cocoa, and a vanilla note that really pops as the beer warms. The blend comes across as bit sweeter on the tongue, although still immensely balanced, with a melange of marshmallow, sweet dark chocolate, dark caramel, assertive bourbon, touches of wood, mild brandy and rum notes, leather, prunes, and figs wafting about. Bourbon, cocoa, vanilla, and marshmallow combine for a long, rich finish. The blend is certainly less stout-centric than in past years, which may not be a desirable change for some, but I was a big fan. My only real quibble is that I would've served it before Chaos Grid. While Wizard Blend has the higher ABV, Chaos Grid came across as bigger and bolder on the palate, which I have a feeling overwhelmed the nuance of Wizard Blend for some people.
4 - Nectarnomicon w/ Strawberry, Mango, & Vanilla
Style: Low-Alcohol Fruit Juice
Score: 4.4 (scored to the context of the style)
Notes: Writing complex tasting notes for this seems like an exercise in futility since it's a rather straightforward beverage - what you see is what you get. The nose is rich in both strawberry and mango at a roughly equal rate, while vanilla supports and provides a backing sweetness. Mango takes a stronger role on the palate, but strawberry is still present. Light acidity, but the vanilla and unfermented fruit keep it on the sweet end of the spectrum. The body on this one is roughly middle of the road by Nectarnomicon standards - not full-blown smoothie as a couple batches have been, but not thin, either. If you like Nectarnomicon in general, you should like this.
5 - Mega Space Ways
Style: Hazy DIPA
Score: 4.5
Notes: This isn't part of the sale, but due to the logistics of trying to ensure all locations end up sampling the same beers, it was included as the fifth taster for the evening. Space Ways has been absolutely killer this year, and Mega Space Ways kicks it up another notch. The aroma jumps out of the glass with resinous pine, white wine, oily citrus peel, sweet papaya and guava, and juicy stonefruit playing a supporting role. The flavor is more fruit-driven than the nose indicated, with guava, mango, and papaya hitting right off the bat, followed by dry white wine grapes, nectarine juice, very mild pine resin, and light grassy notes, before tropical fruit returns to dominate the finish. Perfect body for a hazy DIPA - smooth, but not pillowy, with restrained bitterness. This is probably the best distro haze Modern Times has done, don't sleep on it.
Tyrsis
Well-Known Member
I generally read them here because I basically forget that BA exists, but I don’t mind either way. Although, the way this place has been run lately (during last week’s outage I honestly thought the admins had completely pulled the plug), I’d suggest the other new site as an alternate.
smithj21541
Well-Known Member
pugsandsuds
Well-Known Member
I go to both sites regularly as well as Facebook. I see no harm in continued posting everywhere. It's easy enough to just scroll past for anyone uninterested in reading them. I like the other tidbits you post before you get to the tasting notes, as it's often stuff that was mentioned at one tasting but not another, or something I didn't hear.
As far as the tasting notes themselves, I don't "care" about yours or anyone else's all THAT much... I trust my own palate. That is of course said with all due respect. Cheers.
As far as the tasting notes themselves, I don't "care" about yours or anyone else's all THAT much... I trust my own palate. That is of course said with all due respect. Cheers.
smithj21541
Well-Known Member
While I’m not the MT stan I used to be. I did pickup a mega spaceways. Wow! Xul was right well worth the purchase.
riko1
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2015
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- Reaction score
- 1,010
Nice deep dive on the Ballast Point deal by Peter Rowe in today's UT. Says the sale price is estimated by industry observers at between $75 million and $200 million. Not sure how much the production facility that Constellation is keeping is worth, but wow what a drop.
How did a tiny Illinois brewery acquire a craft beer icon once valued at $1 billion?
By Peter Rowe
Dec. 8, 2019
5 AM
Fresh off a family trip to Rome, Chris Bradley sat down with Brendan Watters, his partner at Kings & Convicts, a little Illinois brewery. Anything happen, Bradley asked, during his vacation?
“We’re buying Ballast Point,” Watters announced.
“What?” Bradley sputtered. “How?”
That exchange occurred in a Chicago suburb this summer. Similar scenes played out across the U.S. last week, when Constellation Brands — Ballast Point’s current owner — and Kings & Convicts announced the deal. Really? How could an obscure two-year-old brewery from Highwood, Ill., (2018 production: 550 barrels of beer) land an industry icon (2018 production: 320,000 barrels) once worth $1 billion?
The full answer is cloaked in nondisclosure statements, but a partial explanation involves 9/11, golf and a desperate seller. New York-based Constellation was eager to dump Ballast Point, with its plummeting sales and a trademark value — a measure of its worth outside of its assets — in free fall, cratering from $223 million in January 2018 to $17 million in October 2019.
“I think they decided it was time to get what they could,” Bart Watson, the Brewers Association’s chief economist, said of Constellation, “and focus on their core brands.”
The rise, fall and re-invention of Ballast Point is one of the most dramatic chapters in the annals of American craft beer, illustrating this industry’s much-hyped promise and often overlooked fault lines. The arc of Ballast’s story, from rags to riches to near irrelevance, is a cautionary tale within the industry, while its possible resurgence is a sign of hope for craft beer’s true believers.
Much depends on the savvy of Bradley and Watters, two craft beer rookies and expats — Bradley, “The King,” is from England while Watters, “The Convict,” from Australia. Having enjoyed financial success in other professions and in other cities, both express confidence in their ability to revive Ballast.
Still, they understand the skeptics. Consider their original plan.
“What we wanted,” Watters said, laughing, “was to have a place to homebrew, put up some TVs and have a place for our friends to gather.”
Not something of Ballast’s size and reputation? “In our wildest dreams,” he said.
What? How?
From calamity to crisis
With his just-us-mates style, Watters appears to be a simple, free and easy Aussie. He’s not.
His resume includes an MBA from the London Business School; a directorship with Avanade, a joint venture of Microsoft and Accenture; 15 years as owner and CEO of a hotel firm, Boomerang, which he sold the Red Lion group for $8.4 million; and two years as vice president of Le Meridien hotels, overseeing that international chain’s corporate finance, purchases and sales.
He secured that last job on Sept. 10, 2001, with a handshake in a New York City boardroom. The next day, he caught a United flight out of JFK, bound for Seattle, where he lived with his wife and children.
Soon after takeoff, the FAA re-routed his flight to Minneapolis, as authorities grappled with the unfolding calamity of 9/11. “We were one of the last flights to land in the United States that day,” he said.
The 9/11 attacks killed thousands, launched the West’s ongoing war on terrorism and shook global markets. Among the casualties was the travel industry, as flights were cancelled and countless people chose to stay home. Watters moved to London to help Le Meridien recover. Flying around the world, he evaluated the chain’s strengths and weaknesses, adding promising hotels and discarding weak links.
“That really taught me the hotel trade,” Watters said.
When his two-year term was up, he founded his own hotelier business, eventually moving to the Chicago area. He led Boomerang through another crisis — the Great Recession — until 2015, when Red Lion made an irresistible offer.
Around that time, he met Bradley. The son of a British foreign service officer, Bradley was a former executive with Navman Wireless, a New Zealand purveyor of consumer GPS devices. He had nodding acquaintance with Watters, due to a personal tragedy.
Lisa and Brendan Watters’ family includes two daughters, a son and a beloved memory. Benny was 5 when he died in 2010, a victim of a rare form of brain cancer. Benny’s World, the charity his parents founded to fund cancer research, held fundraisers that the Bradleys had attended.
The friends’ desire to homebrew led them to a 5,000-square-foot warehouse in Highwood, a town on Lake Michigan’s shoreline 30 miles north of Chicago. The warehouse was too large for a mere amateur operation but sufficient for a small commercial brewery.
They signed the lease in 2016, sold their first pint in 2017, began planning a larger brewery in 2018. They visited about 50 major craft breweries, from Minneapolis’ Surly to Escondido’s Stone. Using this list of best practices, they began building Kings & Convicts’ new home, a 48,000-square-foot production brewery in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., five miles beyond the Illinois border.
Then Bradley took the family to Rome and Watters took some Constellation executives golfing.
(continued in next post because character limit)
How did a tiny Illinois brewery acquire a craft beer icon once valued at $1 billion?
By Peter Rowe
Dec. 8, 2019
5 AM
Fresh off a family trip to Rome, Chris Bradley sat down with Brendan Watters, his partner at Kings & Convicts, a little Illinois brewery. Anything happen, Bradley asked, during his vacation?
“We’re buying Ballast Point,” Watters announced.
“What?” Bradley sputtered. “How?”
That exchange occurred in a Chicago suburb this summer. Similar scenes played out across the U.S. last week, when Constellation Brands — Ballast Point’s current owner — and Kings & Convicts announced the deal. Really? How could an obscure two-year-old brewery from Highwood, Ill., (2018 production: 550 barrels of beer) land an industry icon (2018 production: 320,000 barrels) once worth $1 billion?
The full answer is cloaked in nondisclosure statements, but a partial explanation involves 9/11, golf and a desperate seller. New York-based Constellation was eager to dump Ballast Point, with its plummeting sales and a trademark value — a measure of its worth outside of its assets — in free fall, cratering from $223 million in January 2018 to $17 million in October 2019.
“I think they decided it was time to get what they could,” Bart Watson, the Brewers Association’s chief economist, said of Constellation, “and focus on their core brands.”
The rise, fall and re-invention of Ballast Point is one of the most dramatic chapters in the annals of American craft beer, illustrating this industry’s much-hyped promise and often overlooked fault lines. The arc of Ballast’s story, from rags to riches to near irrelevance, is a cautionary tale within the industry, while its possible resurgence is a sign of hope for craft beer’s true believers.
Much depends on the savvy of Bradley and Watters, two craft beer rookies and expats — Bradley, “The King,” is from England while Watters, “The Convict,” from Australia. Having enjoyed financial success in other professions and in other cities, both express confidence in their ability to revive Ballast.
Still, they understand the skeptics. Consider their original plan.
“What we wanted,” Watters said, laughing, “was to have a place to homebrew, put up some TVs and have a place for our friends to gather.”
Not something of Ballast’s size and reputation? “In our wildest dreams,” he said.
What? How?
From calamity to crisis
With his just-us-mates style, Watters appears to be a simple, free and easy Aussie. He’s not.
His resume includes an MBA from the London Business School; a directorship with Avanade, a joint venture of Microsoft and Accenture; 15 years as owner and CEO of a hotel firm, Boomerang, which he sold the Red Lion group for $8.4 million; and two years as vice president of Le Meridien hotels, overseeing that international chain’s corporate finance, purchases and sales.
He secured that last job on Sept. 10, 2001, with a handshake in a New York City boardroom. The next day, he caught a United flight out of JFK, bound for Seattle, where he lived with his wife and children.
Soon after takeoff, the FAA re-routed his flight to Minneapolis, as authorities grappled with the unfolding calamity of 9/11. “We were one of the last flights to land in the United States that day,” he said.
The 9/11 attacks killed thousands, launched the West’s ongoing war on terrorism and shook global markets. Among the casualties was the travel industry, as flights were cancelled and countless people chose to stay home. Watters moved to London to help Le Meridien recover. Flying around the world, he evaluated the chain’s strengths and weaknesses, adding promising hotels and discarding weak links.
“That really taught me the hotel trade,” Watters said.
When his two-year term was up, he founded his own hotelier business, eventually moving to the Chicago area. He led Boomerang through another crisis — the Great Recession — until 2015, when Red Lion made an irresistible offer.
Around that time, he met Bradley. The son of a British foreign service officer, Bradley was a former executive with Navman Wireless, a New Zealand purveyor of consumer GPS devices. He had nodding acquaintance with Watters, due to a personal tragedy.
Lisa and Brendan Watters’ family includes two daughters, a son and a beloved memory. Benny was 5 when he died in 2010, a victim of a rare form of brain cancer. Benny’s World, the charity his parents founded to fund cancer research, held fundraisers that the Bradleys had attended.
The friends’ desire to homebrew led them to a 5,000-square-foot warehouse in Highwood, a town on Lake Michigan’s shoreline 30 miles north of Chicago. The warehouse was too large for a mere amateur operation but sufficient for a small commercial brewery.
They signed the lease in 2016, sold their first pint in 2017, began planning a larger brewery in 2018. They visited about 50 major craft breweries, from Minneapolis’ Surly to Escondido’s Stone. Using this list of best practices, they began building Kings & Convicts’ new home, a 48,000-square-foot production brewery in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., five miles beyond the Illinois border.
Then Bradley took the family to Rome and Watters took some Constellation executives golfing.
(continued in next post because character limit)
riko1
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2015
- Messages
- 336
- Reaction score
- 1,010
Caught in the middle
Watters has some pull at Conway Farms, a lush course developed by pro golfer Tom Fazio in upscale Lake Forest, Ill. Before hosting the Constellation contingent, he made sure the clubhouse served one of that corporation’s beers, Corona.
After the game, he inquired about Ballast.
Why? the Constellation reps asked.
“I just blurted it out,” Watters said. “We want to buy it.”
A day later, he took a call from Constellation’s Mergers & Acquisitions department.
Constellation made headlines in 2015 by buying Ballast for a reported $1 billion. Crazy money, yes, but at the time it did not seem totally insane.
Ballast had an appealing back story, emerging in 1996 from a homebrewer shop, Home Brew Mart. Its award-winning IPA, Sculpin, was so popular it made cameo appearances on cable TV (HBO’s “Silicon Valley”) and the funny pages (the “Bliss” comic strip). Ballast’s brewers cranked out fan-favorites: Victory at Sea, an imperial porter; Sour Wench, a pioneering American sour; and small-batch experimental brews, the Homework Series.
If Constellation overpaid, many figured the investment would eventually pay off. The corporation used its marketing muscle to distribute Ballast in 49 states — the lone exception is West Virginia — and touted the brand with billboards and TV ads. An additional fortune was spent on Ballast brewpubs in Long Beach, Anaheim and Chicago plus an East Coast brewery in Daleville, Va.
Sales initially rose, peaking at almost 431,000 barrels (one barrel of beer equals 31 gallons). Then came the collapse. Early estimates for 2019 are somewhere north of 200,000 barrels, while the brand’s trademark value fell by more than 90 percent in less than two years.
Why the decline? Several reasons are cited:
Constellation was ready to sell. Watters contacted a handful of investors who had backed his previous ventures; banks that had financed those enterprises; then briefed his stunned partner. In a Chicago “war room,” Bradley and Watters spent two weeks poring over Ballast’s books. After consulting with attorneys, financial planners, friends and family, they came to a decision.
“We can take one of the most iconic brands in beer, with a footprint to die for, with brewpubs in fantastic locations, with a beer that we love?” Watters said. “This is awesome.”
On Sept. 12, California’s Secretary of State registered a new company: Kings & Convicts BP LLC.
Boring as bat guano
This deal still needs approval by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. While financial details have not been released, industry observers estimate the sales price between $75 million to $200 million.
Today, Kings & Convicts BP has six partners: Watters and Bradley (20 percent each); Richard Mahoney, former chief financial officer for The Wine Group, a consortium behind Cupcake, Franzia, Concannon and other wineries (24.9 percent); and three unnamed individuals,including one commodities trader. Several also have a stake in Kings & Convicts’ Pleasant Prairie expansion.
None, Watters said, owns more than 25 percent of the company.
That’s important because the Brewers Association define “craft breweries” as those making fewer than 6 million barrels of beer a year; using traditional methods and ingredients; and “independent,” with no more than 25 percent owned by an outside entity.
The new company will be headquartered in San Diego. While Ballast’s Miramar brewery will devote some time and brew kettle space to Kings & Convicts beers, especially those intended for export to Australia and New Zealand, the partners insisted the emphasis will be on reviving Ballast.
Expect redesigned labels — the one for Ballast Lager, Watters said, is “boring as bat guano,” or words to that effect — and increased advertising and events in the San Diego and California markets. Bradley promised a revival of the barrel-aged beer program and renewed emphasis on small batch of experimental beers, including some geared toward specific geographic regions.
The partners say Ballast will retain its 49-state footprint, with the focus on a dozen: California, Washington, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Constellation, attempting a more uniform cross-country approach, found itself stuck with a declining brand. Will Kings & Convicts BP LLC suffer a similar fate?
“Even though there’s been decline, Ballast Point is going to sell more than 200,000 barrels this year,” said the Brewers Association’s Watson. “In the context of the craft landscape, that’s fairly strong.”
It’s certainly more than 550 barrels.
Watters has some pull at Conway Farms, a lush course developed by pro golfer Tom Fazio in upscale Lake Forest, Ill. Before hosting the Constellation contingent, he made sure the clubhouse served one of that corporation’s beers, Corona.
After the game, he inquired about Ballast.
Why? the Constellation reps asked.
“I just blurted it out,” Watters said. “We want to buy it.”
A day later, he took a call from Constellation’s Mergers & Acquisitions department.
Constellation made headlines in 2015 by buying Ballast for a reported $1 billion. Crazy money, yes, but at the time it did not seem totally insane.
Ballast had an appealing back story, emerging in 1996 from a homebrewer shop, Home Brew Mart. Its award-winning IPA, Sculpin, was so popular it made cameo appearances on cable TV (HBO’s “Silicon Valley”) and the funny pages (the “Bliss” comic strip). Ballast’s brewers cranked out fan-favorites: Victory at Sea, an imperial porter; Sour Wench, a pioneering American sour; and small-batch experimental brews, the Homework Series.
If Constellation overpaid, many figured the investment would eventually pay off. The corporation used its marketing muscle to distribute Ballast in 49 states — the lone exception is West Virginia — and touted the brand with billboards and TV ads. An additional fortune was spent on Ballast brewpubs in Long Beach, Anaheim and Chicago plus an East Coast brewery in Daleville, Va.
Sales initially rose, peaking at almost 431,000 barrels (one barrel of beer equals 31 gallons). Then came the collapse. Early estimates for 2019 are somewhere north of 200,000 barrels, while the brand’s trademark value fell by more than 90 percent in less than two years.
Why the decline? Several reasons are cited:
- In San Diego and other craft beer havens, the cognoscenti shunned Ballast, seeing its sale as a betrayal of the brewery’s local, independent roots.
- Constellation bought Ballast just as the explosive growth fueling U.S. craft beer began to slow.
- Craft breweries are now so numerous, there’s been a shift away from bigger brands like Ballast in favor of neighborhood breweries.
Constellation was ready to sell. Watters contacted a handful of investors who had backed his previous ventures; banks that had financed those enterprises; then briefed his stunned partner. In a Chicago “war room,” Bradley and Watters spent two weeks poring over Ballast’s books. After consulting with attorneys, financial planners, friends and family, they came to a decision.
“We can take one of the most iconic brands in beer, with a footprint to die for, with brewpubs in fantastic locations, with a beer that we love?” Watters said. “This is awesome.”
On Sept. 12, California’s Secretary of State registered a new company: Kings & Convicts BP LLC.
Boring as bat guano
This deal still needs approval by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. While financial details have not been released, industry observers estimate the sales price between $75 million to $200 million.
Today, Kings & Convicts BP has six partners: Watters and Bradley (20 percent each); Richard Mahoney, former chief financial officer for The Wine Group, a consortium behind Cupcake, Franzia, Concannon and other wineries (24.9 percent); and three unnamed individuals,including one commodities trader. Several also have a stake in Kings & Convicts’ Pleasant Prairie expansion.
None, Watters said, owns more than 25 percent of the company.
That’s important because the Brewers Association define “craft breweries” as those making fewer than 6 million barrels of beer a year; using traditional methods and ingredients; and “independent,” with no more than 25 percent owned by an outside entity.
The new company will be headquartered in San Diego. While Ballast’s Miramar brewery will devote some time and brew kettle space to Kings & Convicts beers, especially those intended for export to Australia and New Zealand, the partners insisted the emphasis will be on reviving Ballast.
Expect redesigned labels — the one for Ballast Lager, Watters said, is “boring as bat guano,” or words to that effect — and increased advertising and events in the San Diego and California markets. Bradley promised a revival of the barrel-aged beer program and renewed emphasis on small batch of experimental beers, including some geared toward specific geographic regions.
The partners say Ballast will retain its 49-state footprint, with the focus on a dozen: California, Washington, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Constellation, attempting a more uniform cross-country approach, found itself stuck with a declining brand. Will Kings & Convicts BP LLC suffer a similar fate?
“Even though there’s been decline, Ballast Point is going to sell more than 200,000 barrels this year,” said the Brewers Association’s Watson. “In the context of the craft landscape, that’s fairly strong.”
It’s certainly more than 550 barrels.
Xul1
Well-Known Member
January 2020 Preview Tasting
Assorted Notes
1 - Steven and Leanne hosted tonight, with Alanna joining them while responding to the deluge of emails they've received over the past couple of days. She was also kind enough to regale us with her story of being bit by a black widow and the ensuing allergies she's suffered since. My primary takeaways from the story were 1) black widows will **** your **** right up if you don't get proper treatment, and 2) nature - hell, just going outside - is scary. My affinity for kalsarikännit grows stronger by the day.
2 - Derek Freese was also in the house and briefly (too briefly, some might say) stole Steven's mic to update us on what's happening with upcoming events. He rattled off a long list of coffee roasters and breweries that will be at Carnival of Caffeination (02/08 at Liberty Station), including J Wakefield, who just confirmed today. If you haven't already bought your ticket, get on it. Additionally, he confirmed that Lomaland will once again be hosting a Second Halloween party on 02/14 - which is the only holiday worth celebrating on that particular date - and a tie-dye party on 04/20. Details to come on those, but both events are rad.
3 - League members can expect to receive an email with sale information at some point mid-day today, and Steven/Leanne will post in the League FB group when it goes out. They usually don't send the email out until after the Tuesday night tastings, but with the email issues on Friday, they're sending it out earlier to ensure everything is resolved, and everyone has the info they need to participate in the sale on Wednesday.
4 - Another note related to the sale - included bottles do not count towards the limits stated in the sale email. If a beer has two bottles included and then says limit two for the sale (as a random example), you can buy those two bottles on top of the two you have included in your membership.
5 - Additionally, an email will go out at 10AM on Friday with allocation increases for beers that haven't sold out already. The email will explain this clearly, but as a preview, any purchases you've already made count towards the new limit. If a beer had a limit of two during the initial sale on Wednesday (and you bought both), and the limit goes up to four, you can only buy two more to get up to a total of four. It's not a limit reset, just a limit increase.
6 - The dates for the League welcome parties are not set, but they will be in Q1. We'll hear about it via email as soon as they can lock down the details.
7 - On the merch front, our challenge coins and lunchboxes will be available for pick up next week, along with our first included bottles (Modem Tones Aged in Bourbon Barrels w/ Vanilla). Even if you don't buy any beers this month - which, you do you, but that would be a silly mistake - the coin, lunchbox, and MTV will be waiting for you at the location you selected in the membership survey we received late last year. Glassware should be arriving soon, so it will likely be available next month, but as with all other League-related matters, they'll keep us updated.
8 - Our included bar credit should be ready by January 15th. For those who aren't clear on that, League members receive $40 in credit to use on draft beer - tasters, full pours, or crowlers. On-site bottles are not included, nor is anything from the mini-mart. I'm sure they'll notify us when the credit is live in the PoS system but expect it around the 15th.
9 - The construction team in Anaheim continues to make progress. The floor in the brewhouse/cellar was recently poured, some tanks have already been installed, and both the brewhouse and more tanks are en route. Yes, it's really happening, yes, there is actually going to be a pool, and no, they still don't have a precise date. When they do, we'll know.
Assorted Notes
1 - Steven and Leanne hosted tonight, with Alanna joining them while responding to the deluge of emails they've received over the past couple of days. She was also kind enough to regale us with her story of being bit by a black widow and the ensuing allergies she's suffered since. My primary takeaways from the story were 1) black widows will **** your **** right up if you don't get proper treatment, and 2) nature - hell, just going outside - is scary. My affinity for kalsarikännit grows stronger by the day.
2 - Derek Freese was also in the house and briefly (too briefly, some might say) stole Steven's mic to update us on what's happening with upcoming events. He rattled off a long list of coffee roasters and breweries that will be at Carnival of Caffeination (02/08 at Liberty Station), including J Wakefield, who just confirmed today. If you haven't already bought your ticket, get on it. Additionally, he confirmed that Lomaland will once again be hosting a Second Halloween party on 02/14 - which is the only holiday worth celebrating on that particular date - and a tie-dye party on 04/20. Details to come on those, but both events are rad.
3 - League members can expect to receive an email with sale information at some point mid-day today, and Steven/Leanne will post in the League FB group when it goes out. They usually don't send the email out until after the Tuesday night tastings, but with the email issues on Friday, they're sending it out earlier to ensure everything is resolved, and everyone has the info they need to participate in the sale on Wednesday.
4 - Another note related to the sale - included bottles do not count towards the limits stated in the sale email. If a beer has two bottles included and then says limit two for the sale (as a random example), you can buy those two bottles on top of the two you have included in your membership.
5 - Additionally, an email will go out at 10AM on Friday with allocation increases for beers that haven't sold out already. The email will explain this clearly, but as a preview, any purchases you've already made count towards the new limit. If a beer had a limit of two during the initial sale on Wednesday (and you bought both), and the limit goes up to four, you can only buy two more to get up to a total of four. It's not a limit reset, just a limit increase.
6 - The dates for the League welcome parties are not set, but they will be in Q1. We'll hear about it via email as soon as they can lock down the details.
7 - On the merch front, our challenge coins and lunchboxes will be available for pick up next week, along with our first included bottles (Modem Tones Aged in Bourbon Barrels w/ Vanilla). Even if you don't buy any beers this month - which, you do you, but that would be a silly mistake - the coin, lunchbox, and MTV will be waiting for you at the location you selected in the membership survey we received late last year. Glassware should be arriving soon, so it will likely be available next month, but as with all other League-related matters, they'll keep us updated.
8 - Our included bar credit should be ready by January 15th. For those who aren't clear on that, League members receive $40 in credit to use on draft beer - tasters, full pours, or crowlers. On-site bottles are not included, nor is anything from the mini-mart. I'm sure they'll notify us when the credit is live in the PoS system but expect it around the 15th.
9 - The construction team in Anaheim continues to make progress. The floor in the brewhouse/cellar was recently poured, some tanks have already been installed, and both the brewhouse and more tanks are en route. Yes, it's really happening, yes, there is actually going to be a pool, and no, they still don't have a precise date. When they do, we'll know.
