Let's Remember Some Beers (In Memoriam: Old Whales)

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yeahnatenelson

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A thread to commemorate the white whales of yesteryear that have since faded into obscurity.

I'll start with a beer that I recently remembered thanks to a brag post I saw somewhere on facebook:

2008 Pappy Van Winkle Eclipse
. PINK WAX!!!!1

b28c5238f29ef2b7438a2e2f3494be46_320x320.jpg


Back when Todd Ashman was the undisputed -bal god, 2008 PVW Eclipse was the most desired stout on the forums*. I think the ISO's petered out on this one after the 2013 re-release, but with so many better BA imperial stouts hitting the market it's hard to imagine this beer being all that exciting to any but the nostalgic.


*or was it double-oak spiral Kate the Great? Man, things were different...
 
Back in 2011-2012 when I first started trading, I sent out at least a dozen bombers of Charleville Box of Chocolate. People were losing their **** over that beer for whatever reason. I scored so much Pliny, Blind Pig, and Sculpin.
 
I love these kinds of topics, especially when there's good historical info/context.

Back before I quit FB, I was looking hard on some of the groups for a few old-school whales that have slipped into obscurity:

-Odonata Rorie's Ale
-General Lafayette 275th Anniversary Ale
-Heavyweight BA Old Salty 2005
-Blind Pig Brewing Company Inaugural Ale

Never managed to locate any of them.

I do recall back in the early 2010s how Coast Boy King was in 22oz bombers and traded like liquid gold, at least as far as IPAs go. A few of my first trades involved swapping that for limited BA stouts like Abyss. Then Coast expanded, changed/****ed with the recipe, and turned the beer into a disgusting mess.
 
I love these kinds of topics, especially when there's good historical info/context.

Back before I quit FB, I was looking hard on some of the groups for a few old-school whales that have slipped into obscurity:

-Odonata Rorie's Ale
-General Lafayette 275th Anniversary Ale
-Heavyweight BA Old Salty 2005
-Blind Pig Brewing Company Inaugural Ale

Never managed to locate any of them.

I do recall back in the early 2010s how Coast Boy King was in 22oz bombers and traded like liquid gold, at least as far as IPAs go. A few of my first trades involved swapping that for limited BA stouts like Abyss. Then Coast expanded, changed/****ed with the recipe, and turned the beer into a disgusting mess.

****ing RORIE'S. Can you give us the backstory on that again, Gonzoillini??
 
One of the few old-school whales I was really jonesing to try was the OG 2005 East End Gratitude. Managed to score the first 5 years of Gratitude on one of the Facebook groups in late 2016 for the "cheap" price of $220 for the set of 5:

le7ad30.jpg


Opened them last year on my birthday, the 2005 was a really exceptional beer:

njYJxeL.jpg


This all pre-dated Barleywine Is Life becoming a big meme, if that set went up for auction now the bidding on it would probably be fast and furious. In a similar vein, Midnight Sun M seemed to have dropped off the radar for a few years after its 10th anniversary or so - what was once infamous for having set the EBay record of ~$1500 was selling for less than half that - but seems to have been revived in desirability by the whole BiL thing.
 
****ing RORIE'S. Can you give us the backstory on that again, Gonzoillini??

Don't remember the full story, but it was a Quad aged in Red Wine Barrels with Sour Cherries added to it that I believe Peter Hooey brewed for his daughter's birthday.

I remember when I finally got to taste it with Dunt and dvelcich quite a few years ago, and it was spectacular. Tasted like Three Philosophers with a much bigger body and richer finish and was absurdly complex.

I remember when I used to trade IrishGurl4 (pretty sure that was her handle on BA) for full 12 bottle cases of Odonata Saison as well...
 
I love these kinds of topics, especially when there's good historical info/context.

Back before I quit FB, I was looking hard on some of the groups for a few old-school whales that have slipped into obscurity:

-Odonata Rorie's Ale
-General Lafayette 275th Anniversary Ale
-Heavyweight BA Old Salty 2005
-Blind Pig Brewing Company Inaugural Ale

Never managed to locate any of them.

I do recall back in the early 2010s how Coast Boy King was in 22oz bombers and traded like liquid gold, at least as far as IPAs go. A few of my first trades involved swapping that for limited BA stouts like Abyss. Then Coast expanded, changed/****ed with the recipe, and turned the beer into a disgusting mess.

be happy you didn't find the inaugural ale. gross.
 
I love these kinds of topics, especially when there's good historical info/context.

Back before I quit FB, I was looking hard on some of the groups for a few old-school whales that have slipped into obscurity:

-Odonata Rorie's Ale
-General Lafayette 275th Anniversary Ale
-Heavyweight BA Old Salty 2005
-Blind Pig Brewing Company Inaugural Ale

Never managed to locate any of them.

I do recall back in the early 2010s how Coast Boy King was in 22oz bombers and traded like liquid gold, at least as far as IPAs go. A few of my first trades involved swapping that for limited BA stouts like Abyss. Then Coast expanded, changed/****ed with the recipe, and turned the beer into a disgusting mess.
If you're still ISO Rorie's there's an outside chance some friend of mine has one kicking around from when Toronado sold it to go at one of their anniversaries. No idea what the ask would be, though. (Best part of that was that Chussain and his mule army had no idea what the bottle was so skipped it.)

I've had it a few times, some from that release, once at the Eclipse party, poured by Hoey himself. IIRC he said he doesn't have much left.

In terms of "old whales no one would give a **** about now" T-20 has to be up there. Though who knows, maybe RR has more shitlord cachet than I give it credit for.
 
Cant help but think yeahnatenelson got inspiration for this topic based off splinter blue talk this morning ;)

The amount of beers already mentioned here that I still have bottles of is making me feel some kinda way.
Feel free to send me all your old Gratitude. Or new Gratitude. One of the few American barleywines I've really loved and only ever had a couple vintages.
 
Cant help but think yeahnatenelson got inspiration for this topic based off splinter blue talk this morning ;)

The amount of beers already mentioned here that I still have bottles of is making me feel some kinda way.

Absolutely. It was the double-whammy of Splinter Blue and seeing somebody post about PVW Eclipse. It was a toss-up as to which one I was gonna post about, but I thought it'd be fun to reminisce about all of these epic beers from a time when bleeding edge craft beer and beer trading were VERY different.
 
In terms of "old whales no one would give a **** about now" T-20 has to be up there. Though who knows, maybe RR has more shitlord cachet than I give it credit for.

I'll add Depuration, FfaC, non-pH1 Beat and 3L Consecration/Supplication/Temptation.

Sad to think of RR no longer being blue chip, but here we are... Add coconut and Tahitian vanilla, Vinnie!
 
One that immediately comes to mind is Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castelton. This is a brewery I probably haven't had a beer from since this beer was hyped.
cdc2.jpg

I still remember having the realization that people stopped using using "FF" as shorthand for Flaming Fury and instead used it for Fou'Foune...

That was...2013?
 
Feel free to send me all your old Gratitude. Or new Gratitude. One of the few American barleywines I've really loved and only ever had a couple vintages.

The number of cases of gratitude I owned circa 2013 was likely second only to the brewery itself. Even the residents of western PA thought I was insane for buying it by the cases every year. I stopped going to the release at the completion of the ROYGBIV series of paper bag labels. I still have multiple bottles from every vintage, its embarassing.

If you are serious, i can sling some your way.
 
One that immediately comes to mind is Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castelton. This is a brewery I probably haven't had a beer from since this beer was hyped.
cdc2.jpg
That reminds me, anyone still care about Brute and... uh, that other one that brewery made? Man, I can't even remember the brewery. Ithaca maybe?
 
I remember scheduling a client meeting in Grand Rapids in late 2009 or early 2010 just so I could drive over there from Detroit because Founders had Black Biscuit on tap. Still one of the best beers I’ve ever had.

When Black Biscuit and Kaiser Curmudgeon opened for CBS on their US tour...
 
Don't forget Black Raspberry Lambic. That was a legitimately delicious beer. Also New Glarus R&D Wild Blackberry. We were so naive; didn't know what kind of adjuncts we were in for.

But people still give a **** about Southampton Black Raspberry Lambic and New Glarus Very Sour Blackberry.



I think?
 
Pursued so many whales back then that no one would care about now:

Midnight Sun Barfly
Surly Two
Norrebro Saison Lambic Pinot Noir
Southampton Berliner
Dogfish Head Festina Lente
Pizza Port Le Woody Brune

I remember trading stakem and others for Selin's Grove growlers. Great times.

Now nobody is even aware Midnight Sun ever made anything better than what passes now for Arctic Devil.


Lotta good picks, Tnudish.
 
Pursued so many whales back then that no one would care about now:

Midnight Sun Barfly
Surly Two
Norrebro Saison Lambic Pinot Noir
Southampton Berliner
Dogfish Head Festina Lente
Pizza Port Le Woody Brune

I remember trading stakem and others for Selin's Grove growlers. Great times.

I use to give away Selinsgrove fruit growlers like it was year round trick or treat night.

Will never forget the day I ran into a ratebeer admin at the brewery who was filling a ****ing duffle bag full of 2-liter growlers of their kriek.

Me: “Wow man, you must really like that ****. Wouldnt it be cheaper to just ask them for a keg?”
Him: “Im trading these away, its kind of a big deal.”
Me: “oh yeah? I usually fill some for friends, didnt know people outside our area even knew of this brewery.”
Him: “this one growler is getting me 2 vintage lambics, this growler is.... blah blah blah”

Clearly I was doing it wrong back then.

Southampton Berliner......best beer of my life. Only “perfect” beer ive ever had.
 
Couldnt help myself, I had to look on BA and see what the oldest things from my wants list are that I never got to try.

Hommage (Southampton’s version not 3F)
Loerik
Dirty horse
Bar fly
Sloth
Yellow Bus
Cable Car Kriek
DQ
Rose/Blauw
Leviathion
Churchills finest hour
Wooden Hell
M
Kuhnhenn BBBW
 

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