Minnesota "NE style" IPA's

I think a NE IPA is a lot like pornography. I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.

 

Picked up two TFBWEDs at Elevated, MPLS. $7.99 per.

 

On Facebook, I saw someone from 612 trying to push Hidden Beach as a NE IPA. That was fun.

 

NE as in Nordeast Minneapolis? That I'd believe.

 

And flour in the kettle.

 

Of course

 

So who has bought/tried this and what do you think? Snow driving conditions kept me from buying 1 today.

 

Supposedly this is the secret sauce for the pioneers of the style: https://www.morebeer.com/category/hop-hash.html

We haven't tried it, trying to track down a more exciting style than what we've been able to find available so far. I've heard of people using the flour method as well. Low floc yeast + grist bill alone won't get you to Treehouse/Trillium levels of cloudy alone, from our experimentation.

 

I assume that Modist plans to make Deviation 002 a (semi?)regular thing. Is Dreamyard not the same beer with a different name, which would suggest subsequent batches are in the future?

 

You are right on. Modist has taken deviation 002 and rebranded it Dreamyard. Dreamyard will be appearing as a staple on their taplist for the forseeable future.

 

For those homebrewers out there, making a NE IPA is not as impossible as it seems. Northern Brewer has a kit (http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/BeerieSmalls.pdf) and the Growler also featured a recipe (http://growlermag.com/homebrew-recipe-new-englandish-bitter/). I had good luck making a Citra/Mosiac one with Chico yeast, a grist of oats, red wheat, and pilsen malts, and Minneapolis water without any water chemistry augmentations. Not Tree House level, but it turned out way better than I expected and received good reviews from even my most beer nerd friends and family.

 

For someone who's never had Treehouse, are you referring to something similar to what TG produces in the form of DDH Sue or Hopsmack or something on those lines? That's what I've always thought a "NE IPA" was, but have never actually had one.

 

I'm sure I'll get smacked down by the NE IPA turthers out there, but I think that while these are definitely in the "cloudy" or "hazy" IPA category, I don't know if they would qualify as NE style IPAs. The hallmark of NEIPAs (to me) is the pillowy soft mouthfeel, and a muted bitterness that allows the juicy/citrus qualities of the hops to shine through. I thought Deviation 002 was a decent representation of the style, although it lacked the overpowering hop aroma and taste typical in Treehouse/Trillium etc.

The best representation I have seen in the area (relatively) is Mr. Hoppy Pants from Pulpit Rock. Anyone heading to Decorah this weekend should try it if they can.

 

Two weeks ago Nutmeg had Scurvy Cure on tap. A citra NE style IPA that looked like a glass of orange juice and had a nice chewiness to it with plenty of citra flavor.

... and before the cliche Nutmeg comments appear, their head brewer is Barley Johns former head brewer and has been since last summer. He has definitely turned the beers around for the better (could only go up from the last guy though!).

 

I had their "To Hop and To Hold" back in September and felt the same way. Massive cloudy juiciness!

 

Eastlake apparently has a "East-Coast style IPA" on right now. Posted on Facebook last night.

"Sun Dogs' is an East-Coast style IPA loaded with citra hops, the good stuff kids go for."



The beer on the right is "The Raccoon and The Bear is a Simcoe-hopped red ale aged on cedar, juniper berries, and fir tips" in case anyone was wondering.

I'm generally not the biggest fan of Eastlake's beers as I've had some real duds there in the past, but perhaps someone will give this one a shot and tell us how it stands up to other attempts at NE style IPAs in the area.

 

First Beer We Distributed was a solid 4 of 5 stars. Pretty juicy, but not as overtly hoppy and fruity as Born Yesterday (thus far the best NE IPA we've received in Minnesota IMHO). The wheat added some tangy notes while adding some heft to to mouthfeel. Very slight haze. Worth picking up if you see it, but don't stress if you can't pick it up. I'm sure Sisyphus will put together some future quality releases, too.

 

Agree , i tried this yesterday, slightly hazed ,picked up notes of white fruits and white grape.

 

What is a white fruit?

 

Apple & Pears, white grapes.