Bullfrog Le Roar Grrrz 7-29-16 and 7-30-16

[RLD]

 

[RLD]

Bullfrog Brewery Bottle Release Details

Friday, July 29th – Pre-Release

Saturday, July 30th – General Public Release

Here’s the skinny on 2016 Bottle Releases... Surprise! The first of several bottle releases is upon us!

We realize that our first release is short notice, but we promise to give everyone adequate

planning time for subsequent releases. Hint hint... we’re planning on 8/27, 9/24, and 10/22 J

We’ll be releasing 4 Le Roar Grrrz varieties to the public and our members starting on July

29th, 2016 at our brewpub. The brands and counts that will be available for the General

Public Sale on Saturday, July 30th are as follows:

280 Le Roar Grrrz (bottled 6/15/15) 337 Le Roar Grrrz Apricot (bottled 3/30/16)

413 Le Roar Grrrz Framboise (bottled 3/30/16) 368 Le Roar Grrrz Aardbei (bottled 3/25/16)

Dates and Times... Pub Club Members will be able to start purchasing bottles on Friday, July 29th,

at 11AM. We will sell the allotted Pre-Sale bottles until they are gone. General Public sales

will start at 10AM on Saturday, July 30th.

Allotments... Clarifying the above information, Pub Club Members will be able to purchase a

total of 4 bottles (1 of each). The total cost for this allotment is $120 ($30/bottle). Members

and the general public are not required to buy the full allotment of bottles (but why wouldn’t

you?). We have reserved 75 allotments for the Pub Club/Pre-Sale date. With roughly 500

active Pub Club members, we advise that you plan accordingly.

We have approximately 280 full allotments for the General Public Release on Saturday.

Rules, Rules, Rules... We hate to follow rules all the time, but in order to appease the masses

and put order into the event, we must set some ground rules.

• You must be 21+ (Obviously!) and have a valid ID to pick up bottles.

• Cash Only! ATM’s are located in the foyer of the Bullfrog, and in the Woodlands Bank

lot next to the Bullfrog.

• First-come, First-serve basis.

• You may not reserve/hold bottles for pick-up.

• If you happen to be waiting in line, please be courteous and fair.

• No alcohol may be consumed outside the restaurant.

Frequently asked Questions and Concerns...

• Can I obtain a Pub Club Membership prior to the release date?

Sorry, folks. We have decided to halt all Pub Club sales at this time in order to ensure

that our pre-existing, faithful members have the opportunity to obtain their allotments.

• If a member purchases bottles during the Pre-Sale on Friday, July 29th, can they

purchase another allotment on Saturday the 30th?

Yes. Even if you purchased your allotment on Friday, as a member, you may purchase

more bottles on Saturday the 30th.

• Is Bottle Sharing allowed at the event? Historically, bottle sharing has been allowed at

Bullfrog during bottle release events. This practice will continue, as we feel it embodies

the spirit of the craft brew movement, and builds community.

 

[Avalon68]

Lots of info in the Facebook post from the brewery above. Here is the summary:

Date: 7/30/16 @10:00 AM

The following bottles will be released:
Le Roar Grrrz(280 bottles on release day)
Le Roar Grrrz Apricot(337 bottles on release day)
Le Roar Grrrz Framboise(413 bottles on release day)
Le Roar Grrrz Aardbei(368 bottles on release day)

1 bottle limit on each variant
$30.00 per bottle

***** This release will be cash only*****

Current Pub Club members can purchase their bottles beginning Sat 7/29 @ 11:00 AM. There are 75 full allotments put aside for pub club purchase. First come, first served until they are gone.

 

[RLD]

Popped a grrrz fram immediately after pre release at the Acme BBQ. Cork shot out into the ceiling after undoing the cage half way.. About a 1/4 of the beer was lost. Steve recommends chilling the Framboise bottles.

 

[stakem1]

Anyone have additional commentary about how the release was yesterday?

Despite the Framboise gushing, was it good?

 

[sideshowe]

Missed you there Adam. Release was shockingly low key. Bottles should be available for a little while. Framboise is very good. Grrrz base took very well to the fruit. Loads of seedy berry in this one with a balanced acidity. Hard to go wrong with raspberry. As was mentioned before, I would chill these before opening (I believe apricot was also "lively"). Also, bottles > draft.

 

[RLD]

So far I have popped every bottle but the strawberry. All have been excellent! I agree with sideshowe with the bottles being much better than the grrrz drafts they were offering.

 

[dtx00]

Does anyone know if these are still available? From the sound of things it seems like they are. Only interested in the variants, and more specifically the Fram, and Apricot

 

[Avalon68]

Does anyone know if these are still available? From the sound of things it seems like they are. Only interested in the variants, and more specifically the Fram, and Apricot

There are sill bottles available at the pub.

 

[shuggy1]

So Grrrz has gone from a sub 300 release where folks were using very questionable people as mules to lasting the better part of a week now?

 

[Iliketurtles]

If anyone can snag me a set I can pay in advance and give you thank you beers. I've been to the prior releases, but I haven't been able to make it up because of my new job. Thanks.

 

[iong516]

So Grrrz has gone from a sub 300 release where folks were using very questionable people as mules to lasting the better part of a week now?

Well first they were trading for whales, then too many people bought them and tried to trade them for whales and flooded the market and didn't trade high as a result, and now no one wants them because they no longer trade for whales. Makes sense.

 

[tehzachatak]

So Grrrz has gone from a sub 300 release where folks were using very questionable people as mules to lasting the better part of a week month now?

FTFY

 

[shuggy1]

Well first they were trading for whales, then too many people bought them and tried to trade them for whales and flooded the market and didn't trade high as a result, and now no one wants them because they no longer trade for whales. Makes sense.

How can the market get flooded if there are only ~280 bottles to begin with?

FTFY

Are you serious?

 

[tehzachatak]

How can the market get flooded if there are only ~280 bottles to begin with?


Are you serious?

Yes, I bought Grrz on Saturday at the Rood Bruin release. As far as I'm aware, they still have full sets for sale at the pub. It is possible it sold out Saturday - I was there just after open and there were only about 6 people there, so lots more may well have trickled through and bought Grrz throughout the day.

 

[iong516]

I think b2 was significantly bigger and killed grrz hype shuggy

 

[shuggy1]

I think b2 was significantly bigger and killed grrz hype shuggy

Two variants had 800 and two had 400 bottle counts. Still hard to flood the market with that. There's got to be other factors in play.

 

[iong516]

Taste? And literally everyone was trying to trade away b2 immediately. Biggest trade value tank I can recall...

I have no skin in the game, I liked b2 base and plum and looking forward to my only grrz bottle (b2 base) whenever I decide to open it.

 

[tehzachatak]

Two variants had 800 and two had 400 bottle counts. Still hard to flood the market with that. There's got to be other factors in play.

It's expensive, Williamsport is far away from people, and it doesn't trade for whales anymore. Think that's about it.. I wouldn't DARE speculate about taste.

 

[Tlo4sho]

Taste? And literally everyone was trying to trade away b2 immediately. Biggest trade value tank I can recall...

I have no skin in the game, I liked b2 base and plum and looking forward to my only grrz bottle (b2 base) whenever I decide to open it.

Pardon my noobness to the Grrrz game. Which batch was released in 2014?

 

[shuggy1]

The reasons given only seem to affect Bullfrog. Everything is expensive nowadays. There's lots of breweries in far more remote locations than Williamsport that trade well and there's tons of releases that get a lot of people looking to flip them out of the gate. On that ratings site, 3 of the fruits are in the top 100 AWA and base Grrrz is #10 Gueuze.

I have no skin in the game either. I haven't been to Bullfrog since the late 90's and I've only ever had base Grrrz once. Beer trading as a whole makes no sense anymore but for a beer of this style, limited availability, and apparent overall quality to **** the bed is at the top of the list.

 

[Shakedwnst]

I split a bottle at a bar 6 months ago with friends. It definitely didn't make me want to drive 4 hours for an AWA.

Maybe the fruited stuff is better?

 

[tehzachatak]

The reasons given only seem to affect Bullfrog. Everything is expensive nowadays. There's lots of breweries in far more remote locations than Williamsport that trade well and there's tons of releases that get a lot of people looking to flip them out of the gate. On that ratings site, 3 of the fruits are in the top 100 AWA and base Grrrz is #10 Gueuze.

I have no skin in the game either. I haven't been to Bullfrog since the late 90's and I've only ever had base Grrrz once. Beer trading as a whole makes no sense anymore but for a beer of this style, limited availability, and apparent overall quality to **** the bed is at the top of the list.

Well, idk what you're looking for... I have never had any of the Grrz, I have a bunch of bottles chilling now. I'll open a framboise soon and report back. I now live an hour away and will probably go to all of these releases if the bottles are even reasonably tasty, because there's not a lot of world class AWA in close range for me here. For previous releases, I know I had friends who made long trips down (some of whom even bought pub club memberships to get second sets), and are unwilling to now given price and distance compared with, yes, trade value.

Maybe it's all about taste?

 

[jeevo]

The trade value of the Grrrz beers between different batches is the largest discrepancy I've ever seen. For the first release, I got in line at 4:00 am and there were still a good 150+ people in front of me. I traded one of my sets for 3 bottles of Toppling Goliath's Assassin and a bottle of Barrel Aged Behemoth from Three Floyds. The second release I did a pre-trade for the Aardbei and Apricot variants for Remy's Pappy and SR-71. I don't think you could trade any of the beers for a 4 pack of Tree House beers these days, and it's crazy because I wouldn't say one of the batches tasted better than the other (at least to me). Maybe the lambic/geueze was the shiny new toy on the market when the first batch hit, but that luster wore off once the second release rolled around. Or maybe people just straight up didn't enjoy them as much. I think it's a combination of both, along with the boards being flooded with noobs trading them away for Dark Lord, Heady Topper, etc. Either way, I love these beers, love the brewery and its employees, love the food, and love the road trip to Williamsport. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stop out this past weekend because of how busy my life has been lately, but I won't hesitate for a second to take future trips out there.

Also should note that I'm a Penn State alum, which eases the drive for me. Have stopped and spent the night/weekend in State College for every release I've gone to.

 

[stakem1]

I like Bullfrog but I am tired of the $25+ bottle of beer regardless of how good it is and what the process is to make it. I also dont have the time/patience to sporatically take a trip to Williamsport on a wim like I use to. Sadly, ive also found myself enjoying the grrrz bottles less and less with each passing experience to the extent that I have a couple versions in my fridge that I havent had yet and keep avoiding them because I really disliked the melange and berry which were the last bottles I drank. Some people also claim that the bottles just dont age well. That certainly can be a detrimental factor to their sales. Even those of us who are in it to drink them dont want to drop that much money on a bottle not knowing if we will even enjoy it or feeling like we have to rush to drink it before it turns to battery acid or the fruit fades.

Kriek (batch 1 and 2) as well as the first batch of unfruited grrrz and apricot were damn amazing beers and worthy of any/all accolades. Having said that, I have not had them in any way other than fresh.

 

[iong516]

Berry and melange were not great, agree. Et Tu Brut tho...

 

[Beerontwowheels]

I like Bullfrog but I am tired of the $25+ bottle of beer regardless of how good it is and what the process is to make it. I also dont have the time/patience to sporatically take a trip to Williamsport on a wim like I use to. Sadly, ive also found myself enjoying the grrrz bottles less and less with each passing experience to the extent that I have a couple versions in my fridge that I havent had yet and keep avoiding them because I really disliked the melange and berry which were the last bottles I drank. Some people also claim that the bottles just dont age well. That certainly can be a detrimental factor to their sales. Even those of us who are in it to drink them dont want to drop that much money on a bottle not knowing if we will even enjoy it or feeling like we have to rush to drink it before it turns to battery acid or the fruit fades.

Kriek (batch 1 and 2) as well as the first batch of unfruited grrrz and apricot were damn amazing beers and worthy of any/all accolades. Having said that, I have not had them in any way other than fresh.

Original Druiven was damn good too.

 

[tehzachatak]

I would like to personally report that the Framboise is damn good- massively overcarbed, cork literally could have take my eye out, but it tastes wonderful.

 

[jeevo]

Anyone hear any rumblings or grumblings as to what beers will be sold at the release at the end of September?

 

[RLD]

More grrrz bottles. 20th anniversary, blueberry, blackberry, and maybe kriek?

 

[tehzachatak]

More grrrz bottles. 20th anniversary, blueberry, blackberry, and maybe kriek?

What is "20th anniversary"? Sounds intriguing.

 

[stakem1]

More grrrz bottles. 20th anniversary, blueberry, blackberry, and maybe kriek?

If the Framboise is still leftover and available at that release I might go to buy 1 bottle each of Fram and the 20th.








Unless the 20th anniversary is relabeled crime of passion......

 

[RLD]

The 20th anniversary is I believe the grrrz base which is aged on Chenin Blanc grape juice. I'm 90% sure they still have full sets from the last release. Should have rood bruins around for a while too.

 

[orangesol]

Maybe if they didn't knowingly release the sewer water that was Crime of Passion at full price, and then claim that they thought it was fine, people would be more willing to give them their hard earned money.

 

[duceswild]

Maybe if they didn't knowingly release the sewer water that was Crime of Passion at full price, and then claim that they thought it was fine, people would be more willing to give them their hard earned money.

I really feel like that's another contributing factor for poor interest in these recent releases.