What the hell is up w/Edward??

My perception of Edward goes back and forth, and it's hard to tell if it's the beer or just my palate and the particulars of the experience. Naively discarding subjective factors, I thought the batches late last summer were totally dialed in: Cloudy but not turbid, juicy with a bitter finish. Much better than I remembered the (still great) version of the pale ale from a year or so prior, which did lean harder on the bitterness. Here's an unfiltered (ha) shot from the best pint of Edward I ever drank, at Parker Pie:



The growler I had from a trip earlier this month was very good, but not quite at that peak.

I think that at the lower ABV, Edward is just that much more temperamental. Too cold, a few weeks older, or a rough pour and it's not quite the same beer. I'd also be surprised if Shaun hasn't played around with the recipe over time. Maybe he thought the batches late last year were getting too cloudy and muddled?

Anyway, always have a growler with room for Edward when I hit HF.

 

The last Edward I had recently at Armsby was very turbid. HF explained the appearance, via a call out on Instagram, as a new yeast culture and it would be less turbid as it matured. It looked darker and cloudier than the image above. Taste was the same as always. Still amazing.

 

That's what they are going for, at least according to the posts from them I've seen, and I've had Edwards that have looked like that. IPAs really aren't supposed to look like what you might be used to from trillium.

 

Jason from this site called them out on the turbidity of Edward. (The "milkshake" beer mission he seems to be on) They stated that it was a newer culture of the yeast and would more clear, back to where they wanted it, over time. Instagram if you want the specific post. That was it.

When I've had Edward (many, many times) it has been a mixed bag of appearance. The taste has always been near the same. In my experience what you are seeing is affecting what you are tasting. IPAs aren't 'supposed' to be turbid. It's a defect that brewers struggle with that is becoming accepted in the beer community. That's ok to me. As far as I'm concerned, if it's accepted it's no longer a flaw, but for now, it's still recognized as a flaw. Edward tastes the same. I had it at armsby last week. I have a 750 in my fridge. I'll let you know.

 

I wouldn't say haze in an east coast ipa is recognized as a flaw. Sure lots of brewers and consumers don't want haze, but it has definitely become an accepted characteristic in the modern east coast ipa. If I went and bought a can of heady topper tomorrow and it was bright, I would be very put off. Maybe it would taste just as good, but that is a characteristic of the beer that is expected.

 

Fixed that for you

 

With milkshakes that tastes as good as Edward, Susan, Congress Street, Heady Topper and Green, I could care less about their appearance.

 

I prefer haze to no haze by a long shot

 

If this were any other brewery the responses would be something like: Brewer becomes a celebrity in the beer world, gets mainstream media exposure, hires a finance guy, pursues a significant expansion, and now has batch inconsistencies in its flagship pale ale. I'd say it's clear they're only in it for the money.

But Shaun is known to be perfectionist, so I'd say give him the benefit of the doubt and see how it shakes out over the next couple batches. But it is odd that he would release a beer that is flawed.

 

Every batch of Edward I have ever had has been a beautiful, hazy, outstanding beer. However, I was at AA last week and my buddy ordered one. It was not the same beer in any way whatsoever. Not the HF Edward I was familiar with.

I also saw that hubbub on Insta. Funny thing is, latest batch is looking like it's back to its glorious, hazy self.

 

Seems counterproductive, but who am I to judge?

 

Agreed. Beer abbreviations are aggressive on here but AA is one that probably shouldn't be used.

 

Going from a brew system that you have pretty well dialed in, to a much larger system is going to take some tweaking.

I have had Edward in a few different establishments lately and found them tasty, but I am not one to over analyze good beer, I normally only do that with flawed beers.

 

AA = Armsby Abbey. Poor abbreviation usage on my part. I didn't think twice as I posted. I apologize for not being clear.

 

The next batch that is coming out.

 

I knew what you meant, it just read like a terrible joke.