Bell vs. Firestone Walker

The brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Location: Paso Robles, California

The main men: Adam Firestone and David Walker
Products of theirs you might know: Union Jack, Double Jack, Wookey Jack
What's that on the label: A lion and a bear, each looking like they're ready to fight, along with a couple of barrels on their sides 

What I Like 

The class of the beer industry 
Firestone Walker's branding and packaging are elegant and portray a mark of distinction and class. Sure, you can't judge a book by its cover. Once you crack one of their beers open and taste, you'll realize that their look goes along with what they are offering. These beers, while quite drinkable, make you want to savor them, much like a fine wine. Makes sense, since the owners have roots in the wine industry and the brwery is situated right in California wine country. If you want to blow away your wine-loving friends who are open to trying beer, bring some Firestone Walker to the party. 

Double Jack and Wookey Jack, two of my favorites and world class offerings, are relatively easy to find 
Pretty much all of my local stores that offer a decent craft beer selection carry one or both of these beers. Shelf life is another issue, addressed below as a dislike, but as far as availability goes for these beers, I have no complaints. 

Nice pricing in my area 
Twenty-two ounce bottles of Double Jack and Wookey Jack can be had for $6.99 or $7.99, and Walker's Reserve Porter can be had for $5.99. This bottle format can generally be pricey, for some reason, relative to standard four and six packs. For these three beers, relative to what other breweries are offering in terms of product and price in this format, the price is right.

More positives: Every beer of theirs I've tried I've really enjoyed. Nice glassware. 

What I Dislike 
Not enough variety of their products in my area 
On a regular basis, it's pretty much Union Jack, Double Jack, Wookey Jack, and Walker's Reserve Porter, with some irregulars such as §ucaba, Double DBA, and 16th Anniversary showing up recently. With the four regulars, that's a pretty good lineup, sure, but I'd like to see regulars DBA and Pale 31 and seasonals Solace and Velvet Merlin on the shelves. 

Parabola, their highly regarded Russian Imperial Stout, is impossible to find where I live 
I can appreciate a well regarded beer that's a limited release and disappears quickly, but it drives me to distraction that all efforts to find this beer at retailers have come to naught. Local retailers will post on Facebook that they have some available on a first come first serve basis, and a short time later their supply will be gone

Bottles that have been sitting on the shelf way too long 
Ok, this is likely not their fault, but it seems to be a consistent problem with beers from this brewery so I thought I'd bring it up. I've found Double Jack that was three and four months old and Wookey Jack that was almost six months old. These are two of my favorite beers--unfortunately, in these instances, their shelf life had me looking for alternatives. Also, Double DBA recently popped up at a local store, but the date on the bottle made it close to nine months old (probably ok for this beer, since it's ABV is high and it's packaged in a cardboard, but I'm still reticent to purchase beer known to have been around that long).

More negatives: More on available variety--where's a regular stout?

Bell vs. Dogfish Head

This is the first of an irregularly published series I'll be posting where I'll be taking on what I like and what I dislike about various breweries and their products.  The "vs." aspect sounds a bit more confrontational than I will actually be. I'm quite fond of each of these breweries.
 
The brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Location: Milton, Delaware

The main man: Sam Calagione

Products of theirs you might know: 60 Minute IPA, 90 Minute IPA, 120 Minute IPA, Indian Brown Ale
Their slogan: Off-centered ales for off-centered people 

What I Like 

Not afraid to innovate 
Look at the Dogfish Head lineup and you will see a variety of beers that use unusual ingredients, combine styles, and break the limits of ABV.  Along with not being afraid to innovate, I'll add in they don't seem to be afraid to fail, as not all of their products quite hit the mark.  For me, Palo Santo Marron is innovation hitting near perfection, while Immort Ale, though innovative, just doesn't do it for me.  But they're willing to push the boundaries, which is commendable. 

The brewpub is an experience
The Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, not only takes its namesake's beer seriously, serving up all of the regular line of beers plus seasonals, various rotating products, and beers exclusive to the pub, but it also serves up quite good pub food.  Build-your-own burgers, tasty pizzas, and even a double chocolate bacon cheesecake.  I've been there about five times now and never had a bad experience.  The staff is friendly and knowledgable, and the food is tasty and complementary of the beers.  Also, the pricing on items relative to other brewpubs and tap houses is quite inexpensive (relative to Maryland, which is not the tax-free experience of neighboring Delaware).  The place is hopping even for midweek lunch in the dead of winter (it's tough to get a spot at the bar).  Look for beers to go and various Dogfish Head branded items at the walk-up window shop next to the front door.

More positives: Bottles have nice branding and artwork.  Their signature glass is my go-to glass.  Good availability in my state.  90 Minute IPA and Burton Baton are two of my favorite beers. 

What I Dislike 

Pricing of large format bottles is expensive relative to other brands

Their regular lineup of beers in four and six packs have nice price points, even with Burton Baton and Palo Santo Marron pushing the mid-teens in my area.  But their single bottle, large format beers are just too expensive, as they start at $7.99 in my area and go up to about $14.99, with many of them in that middle range.  If you've got a limited beer budget as I do, it's hard to justify buying these beers at these prices, considering that I've had some of these beers on tap at the brewpub and other locations and, while generally good, don't warrant paying a premium.  While I appreciate the unusual ingredients and the measure of innovation involved, many other breweries offer large format bottles (generally 22 oz vs. Dogfish Head's 25.4 oz) of as good as or better beer at more reasonable prices. 

No year-round stout available

Perhaps this point is moot considering that Palo Santo Marron, considered a brown ale, is an acceptable alternative, but a regularly available stout would be nice.  Sure, this could be a knock on many other breweries as well.  Perhaps a somewhat regular four-pack of an imperial stout would satisfy my desire.

More negatives: Thank goodness I don't have a gluten allergy since Tweason'ale might make me a teetotaler.  120 Minute IPA on tap is a far superior product to the bottled version.  All the other "minute" IPAs are available in four and six packs--why not 75 Minute?  Unlike the Rehoboth brewpub, the three Dogfish Head Alehouses in Maryland and Virginia are not owned and operated by Dogfish Head but rather DFH licenses out the use of its name; the one in Maryland has become much too pricey relative to the Rehoboth brewpub.