Beer

[CL82]

I agree that Gampel is limited in it's architectural design for major improvements/renovations, but I think the ~10,000 capacity is fine (Duke has less). At this point, I think it would be cool to just keep it and build the expanded concessions (and take away some bleachers hopefully)

I’m pretty sure we should get to 11,000 if they had seats in the existing concourse. That’s a good size for a college arena

 

[gampelcrazies]

What exactly about the arena is better? Not the seating, not the concessions, if they allow beer the restroom situation will be worse. You’re probably right they will try to do something inadequate on the cheap.

What really needs to happen at Gampel is:

-Hospitality areas/suites for companies, huge donors, and for recruiting vists
-Bigger concourse areas for food/drink/bathrooms
-Chairback the entire arena and add cupholders to each seat
- New scoreboards

However, I don't know if any of those things are possibly given the structure. I don't see them building a newer arena elsewhere given the practice facility is right next door.

 

[Storrs South]

What really needs to happen at Gampel is:

-Hospitality areas/suites for companies, huge donors, and for recruiting vists
-Bigger concourse areas for food/drink/bathrooms
-Chairback the entire arena and add cupholders to each seat
- New scoreboards

However, I don't know if any of those things are possibly given the structure. I don't see them building a newer arena elsewhere given the practice facility is right next door.

Of those 4 ideas, #2 seems most likely given post above about architectural work already completed to do exactly that by expanding building footprint

#3 is certainly possible, but I bet it's lower on their wishlist items, unless they view as opportunity to increase price of those seats so that they match existing chairbacks

#4 I doubt they are even thinking about that for another decade since that was already improved in 2008/2009, but also are probably limited in what they can do given the unique structure of Gampel. They could do what Liberty has done with the Vines Center, which is nearly a clone of Gampel, having the scoreboard moved to the middle of the arena.

#1 is probably the most difficult to pull off due to Gampel's existing layout, especially without reducing capacity when if anything you'd like to see it bump up 11k

 

[Waquoit]

They need to make Gampel more comfortable not less.

 

[CL82]

What really needs to happen at Gampel is:

-Hospitality areas/suites for companies, huge donors, and for recruiting vists
-Bigger concourse areas for food/drink/bathrooms
-Chairback the entire arena and add cupholders to each seat
- New scoreboards

However, I don't know if any of those things are possibly given the structure. I don't see them building a newer arena elsewhere given the practice facility is right next door.

I disagree with the corporate suites. That’s a little out of character with our on campus arena. I largely agree about seatbacks, but sometimes I think they’re counterproductive in the student area, where kids are standing up anyway. The scoreboard upgrade is always nice, but to me it is the lowest priority.

There are no plans, as far as I’m aware, to build a new arena and no money to do so. The renovation of Gampel and the addition of the concourse is in the master plan though. We’d have to see the actual numbers, but it seems like a cost efficient improvement. If we end up with an 11,000+ seat arena with up-to-date bathrooms and food facilities and alcohol service, I feel like it would be one of the nicest on campus arenas in the country.

 

[Dutch Boyd]

???

???! Never been to Ted's? And also, if your ??? Is for the beaver portion of my post, google is your friend, amigo.

 

[gtcam]

Here comes the North Goal gang back to the soccer games!!!
The only issue is that most of us are either sober for life or some have unfortunately departed from this earth
I think it may be a money maker for the school but might be opening pandora's box with the younger folks
eh - let em have some fun- make sure they don't drive
I can't remember getting home from many a soccer games in the 70s and 80s

 

[CL82]

Here comes the North Goal gang back to the soccer games!!!
The only issue is that most of us are either sober for life or some have unfortunately departed from this earth
I think it may be a money maker for the school but might be opening pandora's box with the younger folks
eh - let em have some fun- make sure they don't drive
I can't remember getting home from many a soccer games in the 70s and 80s

Never drank at Marrone Stadium but did regularly at Memorial Stadium.

 

[Waquoit]

Never drank at Marrone Stadium but did regularly at Memorial Stadium.

My 1st day of classes at UConn, my senior roommate tells me to meet that afternoon to go to the soccer game. I hated soccer at the time but decided that pissing off your roommate on the 1st day of college was not the play. We get to the game and one buddy of his had a keg, the other, a sleeve of red solo cups. Go soccer!

 

[Chin Diesel]

Wonder if they are preparing to fund raise for the expanding concourse at gampel?

Maybe an easy sposnsorship opportunity for some breweries.

 

[HooperScooper]

Depends on what you like. They sell mixed cases that constantly change. They have now added a few four packs. That's important because some of the all IPA/DIPA mixed cases are amazing, but then you get no stouts or brown ales or anything like that. So you can supplement with a 4 pack.

Or if you get a mixed case with multiple kinds of beer, you can grab Julius, Super Treat, Force of Will or Very Green four packs. Damn they have great stuff right now.
Shop Beer Pick-Up! — Tree House Brewing Company

Yeah I hate the mixed case thing that they have been doing since COVID started. Can't wait until they open back up entirely and you can buy how many of whatever you want (within in the mx limits they set, of course).

 

[HooperScooper]

With the closure of the old Best Beer thread, I thought I'd start a new one here (where it belongs). Just picked up a four pack from this small local brewer in Massachusetts, but not this beer. Sharing this because I thought @August_West and the other Dylan fans on the board would approve.

View attachment 63819

Cold Harbor is close to my house. They make pretty good beer. Not exceptional like Tree House and Trillium, but better than any of the others within 15 minutes of my house (of which there are like 8 breweries).

Try their Juice Freak. One of their best.

 

[HooperScooper]

Anyone know anything about this new brewery opening in South Norwalk?

Spacecat Brewing plans May opening in South Norwalk

Connecticut’s beer scene continues to expand.

www.nhregister.com

 

[HuskyHawk]

Cold Harbor is close to my house. They make pretty good beer. Not exceptional like Tree House and Trillium, but better than any of the others within 15 minutes of my house (of which there are like 8 breweries).

Try their Juice Freak. One of their best.

I bought Juice Freak and like it. I also bought the Subterranean Homesick Brew. I like it a little better than Juice Freak. Lately, when I go to the store it's just overwhelming how many IPAs and DIPAs are in the cooler. My thought was, I want Cold Harbor to survive Covid lockdowns, so I'll buy their beers. I am confident that bigger places like Jacks Abby will be fine.

 

[Waquoit]

I'm liking the Citranade at Paddle Creek Brewing in East Hartford. I stop and get a 4-pack if I'm in the area.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Broke my beer fast light night before the game. Speed Mettle from Trillium is superb stuff. One of their best new DIPAs in some time. Max Legroom is good too. Had Lizard King from Pipeworks (Chicago) and was reminded of IPAs from 10 years ago. Not bad, but I really can't go back from the New England style to the old bitter and heavy malt style.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

anyone have anything from Maine Beer Company? Feel like their distribution has come into the NYC area so i see a lot of their beers in the store.

 

[8893]

anyone have anything from Maine Beer Company? Feel like their distribution has come into the NYC area so i see a lot of their beers in the store.

When I drank beer, I enjoyed theirs very much. Every one I had was very good to excellent; most were IPAs of some sort but they also do some interesting stouts and porters.

Lunch and Dinner were the most sought-after then, with Dinner only being served at the brewery for a time. I think that has changed since. I also really liked Another One and A Tiny Beautiful Something. They all tasted “soft” to me in a good way, like it was something in the water (or maybe something not in the water).

Zoe, MO and Peeper are others I remember enjoying.

 

[HuskyHawk]

When I drank beer, I enjoyed theirs very much. Every one I had was very good to excellent; most were IPAs of some sort but they also do some interesting stouts and porters.

Lunch and Dinner were the most sought-after then, with Dinner only being served at the brewery for a time. I think that has changed since. I also really liked Another One and A Tiny Beautiful Something. They all tasted “soft” to me in a good way, like it was something in the water (or maybe something not in the water).

Zoe, MO and Peeper are others I remember enjoying.

Yep. Nailed it. The stouts are good too. The Maine stuff was sought after at one time, but they haven’t changed anything, including the overpriced 500ml bottles. They used to keep Lunch behind the shelf at stores, now there are cases of it. Squandered an opportunity in my opinion.

@Letsgohuskies11 worth trying all those mentioned. Check the dates. Buy refrigerated if possible. Mo on tap was probably one of the two best pale ales I’ve ever had. But anything hoppy and more than two months old I’d pass on. They have a hoppy red called Red Wheelbarrow I think, that was also good.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Yep. Nailed it. The stouts are good too. The Maine stuff was sought after at one time, but they haven’t changed anything, including the overpriced 500ml bottles. They used to keep Lunch behind the shelf at stores, now there are cases of it. Squandered an opportunity in my opinion.

@Letsgohuskies11 worth trying all those mentioned. Check the dates. Buy refrigerated if possible. Mo on tap was probably one of the two best pale ales I’ve ever had. But anything hoppy and more than two months old I’d pass on. They have a hoppy red called Red Wheelbarrow I think, that was also good.

Just bought a "Mean old Tom" from Maine Brewery @HuskyHawk and @8893, its a stout aged on Vanilla beans, sounded interesting and sometimes i get tired of just drinking IPAs. There's a place around the block that almost exclusively does dry hop IPAs that are pretty amazing, SingleCut in Astoria. Def no shortage of good beer these days.

 

[8893]

Just bought a "Mean old Tom" from Maine Brewery @HuskyHawk and @8893, its a stout aged on Vanilla beans, sounded interesting and sometimes i get tired of just drinking IPAs. There's a place around the block that almost exclusively does dry hop IPAs that are pretty amazing, SingleCut in Astoria. Def no shortage of good beer these days.

SingleCut is great.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Just bought a "Mean old Tom" from Maine Brewery @HuskyHawk and @8893, its a stout aged on Vanilla beans, sounded interesting and sometimes i get tired of just drinking IPAs. There's a place around the block that almost exclusively does dry hop IPAs that are pretty amazing, SingleCut in Astoria. Def no shortage of good beer these days.

Mean old Tom is the stout I was thinking of. I think you will like it. SingleCut is in stores here, good stuff. The one I buy when I see it is Softly Spoken Magic Spells. Love the Pink Floyd reference, but I also think it's their best DIPA

 

[Waquoit]

I like Maine. We buy a couple of cases when we drive by but I don't think they are twice as good as others and that's what they charge.

 

[Fishy]

I’m protesting beer until the IPA and crazy name fad is over.

I’m thinking about starting a microbrewery that I will name “Beer.”

Our beers, which will not include any IPAs, will be called “Beers.”

 

[8893]

I’m protesting beer until the IPA and crazy name fad is over.

I’m thinking about starting a microbrewery that I will name “Beer.”

Our beers, which will not include any IPAs, will be called “Beers.”

Kind of like McSorley's, which has only light ale and dark ale.

 

[Waquoit]

I’m thinking about starting a microbrewery that I will name “Beer.”

Our beers, which will not include any IPAs, will be called “Beers.”

If this concept was a stock, I would go short. Empty the 401k short.

Meanwhile, I went out for pre-storm provisions and ended up with Ice Cream Man and Fiddlehead. I'm all set.

 

[tdrink]

Probably injecting some controversy here, but I think people should band together and agree to stop going to Treehouse. It’s not like they are a local micro brewery that needs the extra support. These guys are multi gajillionaires with an enormous brewing and canning capacity. People drive sometimes hours, wait in line in their cars for an hour to pick it up. Even before the pandemic the tap room was not great, nor were the food options. But people continue to flock there to the continued benefit of the profit margins.

I love Treehouse beer. I had been going there since they were in a shack and only had growler fills of green and Julius. I wen out of my way to get it when there was nothing else like it available. But now, while Treehouse might even mak an argument for being the best brewer of IPAs, I can always find something at the package store that is on a par and sometimes refreshingly better. And that’s where, at this point, we should be able to get Treehouse beer They should be distributing, like everyone else. But I get that they are effective capitalists and will continue to bank the money they would have to share with truckers and shop owners as long as people go ridiculously out of their way to get beer that maintains a myth of scarcity.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Probably injecting some controversy here, but I think people should band together and agree to stop going to Treehouse. It’s not like they are a local micro brewery that needs the extra support. These guys are multi gajillionaires with an enormous brewing and canning capacity. People drive sometimes hours, wait in line in their cars for an hour to pick it up. Even before the pandemic the tap room was not great, nor were the food options. But people continue to flock there to the continued benefit of the profit margins.

I love Treehouse beer. I had been going there since they were in a shack and only had growler fills of green and Julius. I wen out of my way to get it when there was nothing else like it available. But now, while Treehouse might even mak an argument for being the best brewer of IPAs, I can always find something at the package store that is on a par and sometimes refreshingly better. And that’s where, at this point, we should be able to get Treehouse beer They should be distributing, like everyone else. But I get that they are effective capitalists and will continue to bank the money they would have to share with truckers and shop owners as long as people go ridiculously out of their way to get beer that maintains a myth of scarcity.

I don't understand this line of thinking at all. Same with Trillium, which also doesn't distribute, and which is my local craft brewery.

Not sure if you know much about them, but they started brewing on a farm in Brimfield. The first time I went out to the expanded brewery at the farm in Monson owned by the family of one of the founding guys. It was January, snowing and there was a line. We could get 10 cans only. It was small capacity then, but had become known (about like Tilted Barn now in RI). Eventually they did well enough to buy the land in Charlton and build the new brewery. They have since changed that brewery a few times to improve the experience. They bought a farm in Woodstock, CT, to grow fruit, and other things. They are expanding to add tap rooms and can sales locations in Cape Cod and Western, MA. They strike me as people who are doing what they can to help provide jobs and opportunities in the rural communities they serve. They are a fantastic example of small business done right.

But I guess you want them to distribute through the massive corporate entities that control that process, and lose the freshness that is the hallmark of their beers. They sell unpasteurized, unfiltered beers that must remain refrigerated. So do a lot of the companies selling IPAs through distribution. Do you see those beers in the cooler all the time? Are they being sold within a week or so of canning?

I do support the smaller local breweries around here as well (like Cold Harbor I posted to start the thread) and we all should.

 

[Dove]

I’m protesting beer until the IPA and crazy name fad is over.

I’m thinking about starting a microbrewery that I will name “Beer.”

Our beers, which will not include any IPAs, will be called “Beers.”

Your outside sales people need to be on their game and have a sense of humor.

 

[tdrink]

I don't understand this line of thinking at all. Same with Trillium, which also doesn't distribute, and which is my local craft brewery.

Not sure if you know much about them, but they started brewing on a farm in Brimfield. The first time I went out to the expanded brewery at the farm in Monson owned by the family of one of the founding guys. It was January, snowing and there was a line. We could get 10 cans only. It was small capacity then, but had become known (about like Tilted Barn now in RI). Eventually they did well enough to buy the land in Charlton and build the new brewery. They have since changed that brewery a few times to improve the experience. They bought a farm in Woodstock, CT, to grow fruit, and other things. They are expanding to add tap rooms and can sales locations in Cape Cod and Western, MA. They strike me as people who are doing what they can to help provide jobs and opportunities in the rural communities they serve. They are a fantastic example of small business done right.

But I guess you want them to distribute through the massive corporate entities that control that process, and lose the freshness that is the hallmark of their beers. They sell unpasteurized, unfiltered beers that must remain refrigerated. So do a lot of the companies selling IPAs through distribution. Do you see those beers in the cooler all the time? Are they being sold within a week or so of canning?

I do support the smaller local breweries around here as well (like Cold Harbor I posted to start the thread) and we all should.

I know plenty about Treehouse. I did more than my share to help them grow their business. I don’t want them to distribute globally like InBev. I want them to distribute regionally like Counterweight, Fat Orange Cat, Alvarium, Beer”d, Abomination, etc.

Treehouse is an example of a small business that did so well, they are no longer small. But they are still treated like a small place by their patrons. I will spend my money at businesses that are smaller and I feel are working harder to get my business.