Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

how different is v4 from the rebatch of v1? i thought that shit was terrible. but there is a sucker in all of us and if you guys say v4 is good...well i guess its off hunting later. hah. unless anyone knows of an available stash somewhere.

 

im not sure what it was about it, maybe it was too old i guess could have been carbonation issue, it was frothy and just sorta unappealing as far as the mouthfeel. it wasnt just hazy and a nice soft feel, it was a meal. it was almost thick and just full of yeast or something. almost like when u tell yourself you arent gonna take that shot of the undecanted beer at the bottom of an old belgian, but you do anyway and regret it. it was like that for the entire bottle.

 

Your mom has a pretty full mouthfeel

 

yeah i feel like something was just not right. i generally like fuller bodied beers.

 

hey i dont discriminate!

 

Finally popped my Hubbard's V4 before it fell off by the weekend (kidding). Definitely my favorite of the Fresh series and I've enjoyed all the prior ones I've tried (I've had them all except V1 batch 1). He definitely dialed up the haze and captured the hop flavor. Very enjoyable.

As far as my favorites go (if counting Transient), I'd go:

1a) The Juice Is Loose
1b) Obligatory
- I'd really need to do a side by side or have copious amounts of each to determine a clear favorite
2) Mikerphone (especially SS5&7, and Get Fresh Flow)
3) HC V4
4) The rest

*I haven't had Ram Juicy and probably won't make it up there this weekend, but I do have a couple cans of Obligatory left...

 

Hubbard's V4 was awesome last night. It's every bit as good as SS yet pretty easily available. I think they've got it figured out now and it's a matter of time before it starts disappearing from shelves in mere hours

 

If Hubbard had a snazzier label and incorporated some type of commonly known fruity liquid or pleasant atmospheric reference in their name, their stuff would've been flying off shelves way before they "figured it out." I kind of like the simplistic black label though. Am I wrong in noticing that V4 is the only one that has the hop bill listed on the label? If so, I appreciate that.

 

Funny you mentioned the label because I went back into my Untappd photos to see if I had missed or ignored the hops on previous versions

I had Hailstorm Stratus today but,while a solid beer, I don't really see how it's capturing much of the NE style. Certainly not like Mettle/Vicinity or even much like the traditional example of Heady.

 

I tried for some Obligatory on Saturday, and they were sold out...apparently recently, as the sign was still up. I'll be going to Ram for this weekend's release, so if you want to try and meet up to exchange one or two of each so we can sample the other, let me know.

 

Wow! The that's a hoppy beer if the hops just aren't falling off, but the whole thing is disappearing!

 

I would definitely be up for that. I sent you a BM.

I know Obligatory didn't get much love in this thread, most likely because it was a Michigan release, but its an excellent representation of the style.

 

I've never had it, so I can't give it love OR hate....yet!! Same with Juicy, although that will change tomorrow.