Rougabrew Bottles at Marina Store

I wish I thought 5.9% beers were still up there...

Currently enjoying Ohio Unidragon...11.5%...low ABVs don't buzz me as much anymore or get anywhere for me like they used. to. Unfortunate side effects of helping out a distillery with free time and being a bartender for parties and conventions on the side I guess..sigh

I called brew kettle and they said it's on tap there. You can probably even do a growler.

Again, you can buy the Rougabrew for way cheaper at Bayshore Beverage, right outside the park. $44 for a case of 24, or I think it's 3 something for a single bottle. They are one of the very few places to have the Rougabrew.

My $44 will go other places. It's pretty good. Not excellent, but it's good. I'm really surprised btw that it wasn't offered in the beer garden in the back of the park. Or at least it wasn't available opening weekend.

But Dortmunder Gold still has my money in the park.

Tried Rougabrew today, not a fan. When I asked the bartender at the Trail Tavern about it he described it is "Bud Light and Yuengling mixed in a blender". He was right. I like the Brew Kettle and have brewed my own beers there, and the staff has been excellent, but this beer just isn't to my liking.

That said, and I assume I'm late with the news, but holy cow they have "moonshine" at the Trail Tavern! Granted it's 80 proof so not moonshine to me, but for $2 bucks more than a beer you get a very generous double shot with whatever wash you want. Not a bad deal at all!

Rougabrew is something like $5 at Hotel Breakers on tap or around $7 for a larger draft serving at Famous Dave's. The bottle for $7.50 is a bit ridiculous for the style if looking at the beer content only, but if you want it for the bottle I guess it's not too bad of a souvenir cost.

In general its OK, but not really that special. It's light and very "familiar" for those who don't drink a lot of craft beer (i.e. very hoppy, high ABV, etc...).

I still think it would be awesome if CP did a legit craft beer bar with 20+ options on tap at fair pricing... I know they have the "bottle shop" in Frontier Trail, but it's a bit pricey for the single bottles and selection is just OK.. I think they could make a killing with normal prices and a huge tap list of local stuff (FatHeads, Brew Kettle, Jackie-O's, Revolution, Bell's, Founders, etc...). But if they can sell Bud at $8 a glass in the park and sell enough of it to be worthwhile, I guess you can argue why would they spend more on kegs of craft beer and sell it for less... But I would assume the volume sold from those who care about the quality would more than make up for it with a solid list and inviting atmosphere/hangout for those 21+ only.

I was hoping that the Trail Tavern was going to be exactly as you described. Instead, I walk in and see Sam Adams and Goose Island on tap. I know that technically they are "craft beers" and they sell with ease, but with all of the options available that are actually locally owned and brewed it seems like a silly decision. There's so much potential there.

I will admit that I haven't been into the Trail Tavern yet this year, so maybe things have changed. Has anyone checked the selection this year?

Except, you didn't actually see anything on tap at the trail tavern. :) They don't have a draft system, but they do pour from bottles.

Invertalon said:

I still think it would be awesome if CP did a legit craft beer bar with 20+ options on tap at fair pricing...

You do know it's an amusement park, right? :) I honestly don't think that beer hipsters are a huge market. Certainly season pass folk would enjoy getting a little drink on, but I don't know that going any deeper than they already do is a strategy that makes sense.

Yeah, as much as I'd love to see some better choices, I can't imagine what they'd charge for craft beer, considering what they charge for the relatively generic stuff they sell now.

What they'd charge isn't as big a concern as the product life. I don't think you'd have enough sell through to keep the product fresh on most craft beers. In addition there are very finicky tastes to each craft beer fan.
The park has to weigh what will sell to the general public while appealing to the craft side as well.

Also, with most things at cedar point- a little extra foot traffic to the marina, lighthouse or hotel stores saves a lot of money.

My experience as a beer pourer was that it didn't matter what we served, the customer settled on something anyway. Never did a guy say to me "I don't care for any of those, I think I'll pass".
Beer drinkers will get a beer. They may complain about it, but you'll find them drinking it. When I worked at CP we sold the hell out of Genessee. Not because it was good, but because it was what we had.

operative_me said:

That said, and I assume I'm late with the news, but holy cow they have "moonshine" at the Trail Tavern! Granted it's 80 proof so not moonshine to me, but for $2 bucks more than a beer you get a very generous double shot with whatever wash you want. Not a bad deal at all!

Name and brand by chance?

Oh, it's probably that stuff that comes out of Gatlinburg. It's starting to show up all over, in too many inappropriate flavors. Ole Smokey? Something like that.

Ole Smokey Moonshine. They have stores in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. They have 3 or 4 bars in each store and give free samples. Adding more locations all the time.

Bleh...Shameless plugging my distillery, that Ole Smokey doesn't come close to us, even sans bias.

http://stillwrights.com/

It's not Ole Smokey. It's Full Throttle S'loonshine

Ah, those aren't too bad. Their blackberry is quite interesting. Their vanilla wasn't as tasty when I tried it, however I wouldn't say it wasn't good, just, not up to what I'd expect.

Their tea at Logans Roadhouse isn't bad, it's worth giving a try.

I really, really like the peach. I'm not one for sweet liquors, or anything that's not brown, but I can make exceptions for things like that.

Stillwrights looks really good. I'll have to try and find some.

Thanks, we're all over, branching out more every week. If you liked their peach you'll probably like ours. It's a bit lighter flavor so has a bit more ethanol bite than the other flavored moonshines, however it's still awesome. The Key Lime Pie and Margarita ones are my favorite. I could drink those easily.