Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

Yeah, I'd imagine that after the last batch of JP they realized they needed a quick fix since everyone always bitches when a "juicy" beer isn't hazy.

And hey, it worked, so whatever! In general though, I think that's a cheap way out. Looking into it a little on the Google, it looks like Tired Hands does it for their Milkshake series, and it seems like it's maybe more common than I thought.

There's a now-locked-down thread about it here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...reweries-that-use-flour-in-their-ipas.462886/

Nothing real definitive, although it sounds like this isn't as weird as I thought it was. The interesting question, I guess, is how does the Milkshake series hold up after a month or two?

 

Yeah, they also pointed out that it's kind of hypocritical given that flour is in some sorts of beers, and there are other additives that give the beer similar/opposite qualities that we don't balk at.

 

That's interesting, the batch I had of GB (1st) was far above Cumulus in terms of being "NE style," in my opinion--fuller feel, juicier, etc (although I've heard very mixed things about the latest batch of GB). I actually preferred the first batch of Cumulus to the latest, because the latest was more of an NE IPA than the original (and I didn't think it was as good of a representation of an NE IPA as it was its own beer, if that makes any sense). I actually preferred the latest batch of Juice Pants to the new Cumulus.

One of my favorite things to come out of the explosion of NE stuff here in the Chicago area is just how varied people's experiences and opinions are on the beers. From the fact that people are posting pics of completely clear beers when mine have been entirely opaque, to the wildly different feelings on which ones are best, it's really interesting to see what everyone thinks.

In the same sense, I just picked up a 6-pack of one of my favorite new IPAs last night (Enjoy By: Unfiltered) and am curious to see if it's going to suffer from the same variation issues that a lot of these newer unfiltered beers seem to.

edit: Also, looking at the most recent reviews/ratings for GB here on Beer Advocate, it definitely seems like the second batch is significantly less popular than the first.

 

Oh yeah man, I'm not trying to say you're wrong; I totally agree on fruity flavors and a lack of bitterness (I only like a little, so as to balance out the beer). And Born Yesterday is excellent; between that, Waldo's and the BA stout Lagunitas has on tap in Chicago right now (Willett barrel-aged), I've been really happy with their recent stuff.

In terms of chasing down stuff, sadly it seems like the better IPAs (especially the NE stuff) are chase-worthy (in that you won't get 'em otherwise). All of Mikerphone's stuff is like that, and Galaxy Bowl was crazy the first time through. I think the only ones you/we will get lucky on are things like Hubbard's Cave Fresh (which seems to vary greatly from V1 to V4) and the latest version of Juice Pants (a sleeper in my opinion). Even Enjoy By Unfiltered seems to go pretty quickly.

I hope there's a reason for that; it would be a huge letdown if my current favorite NE IPA from the city was basically a one-off. Then again, they cranked that second batch out pretty quickly, and seemingly as a response to demand, so hopefully it was just rushed or something. We'll see when Mellotron hits, I guess.

 

Son of a bitch.


Sounds like everyone has realized we're all suckers for a new fad!

 

Looks like Pacifica, Waimea, El Dorado and Equinox hops?



Tastes much different than the last batch I had, which was clear and very citra-forward. This one might be better, but they're very different beers in my opinion. V3 is NE-style, whatever the citra version was (V2?) was more of a typical IPA that had very little bitterness.