Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

In addition to growlers of the hoppy stuff, there's plenty of interesting bottles for sale too. I grabbed a pineapple gose...

 

Certainly a bit south for most Chicagolanders, but Triptych from Savoy has a new pale ale called Dank Meme that is just as hazy, juicy and hoppy as anything I've tried from out east, and at 4.5%, it's about as crushable as can be. Definitely worth looking for when possible.

 

I got a growler of Juice is Loose on Saturday and drank a good deal of it that night, and thought it was just OK. It is like a lot of the other NE IPA's I've had in the past (pre-Special Sauce Batch 5) that I just didn't care that much for. I shared it with friends that aren't crazy into beer like me, and they said they liked it...but that just means it qualified as something to drink.

I had hoped to get to Watermark today (I know that's venturing further away from Chicagoland), as I saw a post from them about having a NE IPA, but they weren't open in time before I had to head back to the city.

 

Do you know if this is canned / bottled? Or is it only available via tap room growler fills? I sometimes travel to the Savoy area (Bloomington actually) and would be interested in picking some up.

 

Currently only at the tap room I believe.

 

Did you see cans for sale at the taproom or just pours? They had cans when I was there a couple weeks ago, but I wasn't sure if that was a regular thing.

 

No cans of Juice Is Loose.

They had cans of Cromulent though.

 

I could be wrong, but I think @novamat was originally asking about the place in Savoy, not Transient.

I can confirm as well that there were still cans of Cromulent over the weekend, although not too many were left.

 

My bad!!!

 

No worries gents, after I posted I figured I will just call the good folks at Triptych and ask some questions. Maybe they'll update/clarify their website as a result.

 

I did a Chicago attempt at NE IPA day yesterday for the holiday. In this order:

Maplewood Juice Pants (batch 2)
Maplewood Son of Juice
Noon Whistle Zabba Abba
Mikerphone Special Sauce (batch 7)

I was going to drink Cumulus but have already had it, and didn't need to get any more intoxicated on a "school night".

Juice Pants I'd already had, but had one more and thought it would be good to do side by side with the new one. It's a great IPA - really easy to drink - but it's just not a NE IPA to me. I think that's the consensus.
Son of Juice was great - it has the mouthfeel right and is much closer. It's not as sweet or flavorful as the TH beers I've had, but still a good representation.
I hadn't heard Noon Whistle did one until recently, so went to their taproom and grabbed a crowler. It was a good beer - I can't decide if it's a NE style, though. It's got something of a red coloring to it, and I tasted berry at the end. Worth trying if you're in the area.

Mikerphone beat my expectations, which were sky high. This batch was the closest I've had to a Tree House beer. I was depressed (and hammered) by the time I finished the last drop of it.

 

Man, that is a lot of beer in one go, thank you for your insights. SS #7 is my favorite of the series so far, though I missed batches 1 and 5. You all may think this is crazy, but I stored my bottle of SS #7 on its side, and in fact tipped it a bit so that any sediment would move toward the cap. I also took time to agitate the beer a bit before opening and pouring When I opened it there was plenty of sediment / yeast near the cap, and the beer was delectably hazy and juicy. It's hardly scientific, but laying the bottle down is going to be my default for these beers moving forward.

 

I actually left mine as-is but poured into two different glasses. The first pour & the second pour were actually virtually identical in appearance & taste...but I did this one day after it was bottled, so I guess it hadn't had the chance to really settle yet.

 

Pretty awesome we're able to get these so fresh. I've found I actually like them a little better on day 2...I feel like the fruit notes emerge a bit more & it's less bitter.

 

With the haze craze hitting its stride, anyone else wondering if Pipeworks will remove their sediment warning label from their DIPA bombers? It's the one that starts out "STOP" and explains how the beer is unfiltered and to be careful when pouring to leave the sediment behind. I've never listened to that advice, but nor have I seen a lot of sediment in the bottom of their beers. Just a thought....

 

I'd love to see them just go full on NE style & brew up a milkshake.