Notable Releases - DC/NOVA/MD

MoCo, so crazy pricing but I just saw Duet at $22/6 pack. At $12, I'd easily do it even if I only had the non-GF version before. Can't be that much different. I didn't love Hope Birthday that much.

 

Nelson 6 packs coming soon, can't wait.

 

Hoppy Birthday was bad, but the rest I've enjoyed. Not really anything special though, especially at those prices.

 

I've bought two different Pure Hopiness six packs and both were very very good. As was the growler of the same...

 

Love Child No. 6 arrived in Central VA this week. Look for it soon if NOVA has not already received.

 

Is anyone in DC doing growler fills of HopHands from Tired Hands?

Also, do you think we'll get cans distributed here?

 

Definitely not. Neighborhood Restaurant Group has exclusive deal with Tired Hands for DC, just on draft at their restaurants. Doubtful on cans unless Tired Hands increases distribution.

 

Tired Hands hasn't even had their first can release yet anyway. I'm guessing they'll probably sell them at the brewery only, at least to start, similar to OH, Tree House, etc. Unless they really produce a ton I imagine demand will be enough in Philly that cans won't see distro out of the area.

 

Wouldnt surprise me if the cans hit the NRG restaurants too

 

For me they were very good, not great. My bottle shop always has something else i prefer over the Alpine available. I'd put them parallel to Deschutes Fresh Squeezed or Jai A'lai.

 

Sorry to go off topic here, but...
Anyone know what the price of Schlafly's the Eleventh Labor was? I'd like to try to trade for a bottle or two but don't recall what it went for. Has anyone seen it on shelves in the last week or so?

 

Was in Clarendon WF before Christmas at maybe $24 and other VA bottle shops a couple weeks before that. Might still be at Norm's or the WF in Vienna.

 

I would check K1 and Dominion, I have definitely seen it recently. I thought it was like $17.

 

Thanks for all the leads, checked them all. Unfortunately, it's gone, gone, gone...
If anyone can help me out shoot me a message. Thanks again and Happy New Year!

 

Had Ocelot See the Light this afternoon. Very good IPA but I still don't see how you guys compare Ocelot's hoppy beers to the NE heavyweights. Just not quite there, imo.

 

@hoppytobehere. Let me preface this by 1) I usually dislike IPA's and 2) I'm not speaking for everyone, but I thought See The Light was very impressive AND competed well with the Vermont IPAs. At a minimum I think people should check their stuff out.

Also, I know someone earlier mentioned that they are more West Coast IPAs - I didn't get that; I immediately thought NE IPA. Would love to hear what others also thought.

 

For Abraxas lovers out there, I thought Aslin Brewing (Herndon, VA) had a very good Abraxas/Mexican Imperial Stout (10%) clone. It tasted more like the '14 Abraxas - more spice, than the '15 IMHO. Growlers were $24 (64 oz.).

Disclaimer: I had this after having 3 or 4 at Ocelot, which is about 15 mins away.

 

I completely agree.

I'm not sure I buy into the whole East Coast/West Coast IPA thing at this point anymore. Everyone is dry hopping the shit out of their IPAs nowadays to appeal to the "modern" IPA palate. I do find the Ocelot beers to be a bit more bitter than the Vermont IPAs that everyone loves. Whether that makes them "West Coast" or not, I dunno, but I personally find that the bitterness betrays the nose a little bit on basically all of their IPAs and this. This extra bitterness, for me, is what's holding these beers back from being really top level.

That said, I do think that Ocelot is the best brewery in the area. I'd still prefer OTWOA and especially Solar Abyss to any of their beers, but those aren't available often enough and I weight availability higher than many other factors.

 

I've had a number of the GF brewed Alpine beers on tap in the area, and they were outstanding. Bottles have been another thing entirely. I bought 2 bombers of Nelson, and 1 was an onion bomb, the other was good but not at all as good as the draft. Then yesterday I bought a 6-pack of Pure Hoppiness, which was awesome when I had it on tap recently. The 2 bottles I drank so far kind of blow, nothing terrible, just completely mediocre and nothing like the draft. That's my experience anyway. Wouldn't buy another bottle unless I got some trusted info they'd upped their game.

 

I went to Ocelot yesterday and had Planets Align (IPA) and See the Light (DIPA), pictured below. I am not a so-called Ocelot homer, but I have had a couple of their beers months ago before in DC definitely at Smoke & Barrel and maybe Roofers Union IIRC.

They're great. Not as good as the best from VT that I've had, but I am not sure why that would be a helpful comparison. These two did not taste like west coast IPA to me. That might be because they definitely didn't look that way upon my first glance. Planets Align was somewhat yellow, and I don't think I could see through the glass at full pour. See the Light was much more amber, but again, not translucent like (I think) most west coast IPAs are. I should also add that they were not as super cloudy or milkshakey as what I have seen coming out of NE. They look somewhere in the middle—opaque but not milky—which seems to fit in with some recent tastes noted above and my own.

Planets Align IPA



See the Light DIPA





Apparently their bottling line is coming this month or next, and they have decided to use the same exact 500ml bottles as Wicked Weed in Asheville, NC. Sales will be brewery only.