New to Ohio (2017)

Market District in Strongsville always has about 15 or so cases at all times of the White Rajah.

 

Well damn, wth. Wonder what's going at a Portage Crossing. They have a heck of a lineup otherwise. Strange.

 

I agree with most of what you said. I hadn't heard great things about the IPA before trying it but I was pretty impressed. I started out with the coffee stout first and really enjoyed that, although I found it just a tad thin. Then I had the IPA, which was very refreshing. The space is really cool, too. It was packed when I went there Saturday night. Not sure if the Cavs playing at home had anything to do with that, but I really enjoyed my visit at Masthead and I look forward to going there again soon.

 

In Columbus, there are plenty of Brew Kettle offerings at Giant Eagle.

 

What's the expected line for GL barrel aged blackout stout in a few weeks? Its 2 hours from me and I get off work at 730 am that morning. If I show up there at 930 for the 10am release am I chancing wasting a 4 hour round trip?

 

Didn't they have a recent release that sold out really quick? Not the previous one where they decided not to sell it cause it was all infected but one in the last few months? Probably a good Guage. The local crowd supports um pretty hard core so probably have to get there early.

 

Saw a tweet from The Brew Kettle that they just recently filled some Heaven Hills barrels with Dark Helmet for any fans.

 

Platform is going to release a NE style, hazy IPA next month. You guys think it'll be successful? I have high hopes but with no experience brewing it, I'm a little weary.

 

Didn't they try and call baby got blanc a NE IPA? Or were they just throwing around the juicy buzzword? Either way i hope it's better than that.

 

I doubt experience will play any role since it's easier to brew a hazy IPA than a clear one. Will it be good? Hard to tell. Platform continues to pump out average beer with a flash of brilliance every so often, so who knows.

 

I can't wait to try it... I always grab a pair (singles) of whatever they release. Love that it's always fresh, very clean and consistent. Bonus that they forgo a distributor and do it independently. They are always on my list. That said, everything they can is usually very good, but rarely amazing. Although, i recall the '
Jocote Project With Rangpur Lime' to be very good. Tasted just like fruit loops. So I'm rooting for them always.

Edit: no idea what happen with the bold font. Guess the copy and paste set it off. I'm CPU dumb. And
too lazy to try to figure it out. Sorry.

 

I gotta wonder about the "very clean and consistent" part. Not an exaggeration: 50% of the Platform cans I've purchased have been crap. Sometimes way undercarbed, once not even completely full, and many, many times with off flavors. Because they show flashes of brilliances (as mentioned above), I keep trying their beer. I will say that much of their beer is pretty damn solid on draft. It's the cans that I'm not crazy about.

 

I have had great luck w Platform cans and they are probably my second favorite Cleveland brewery right now. Their tart beers have been especially good.

That said, I don't give a care about a 'hazy' IPA. Probably the most overrated type of beer in a world of overrated beers.

 

I think they were just using "juicy" for sales. Sure got me... That beer was a 3.5/5 at best.

 

I really love Platforms can labels. The beers are pretty decent too. Excited to try this IPA

 

The platform cans are a dice roll, I usually squeeze them at the store before I purchase, it's like buying fruit I guess. I hold them in higher regard because of their variety, at least they put out something new every few months, being average or great, it's fun to try their different offerings. Paranormal Hoptivity was great, crisp, clean and CLEAR! I could go for that right now actually.

 

Come on now, Mike. Breweries had to respond to the fact apparently the new wave of IPA drinkers must have their IPA's look like dishwater and be "juice bombs".Clean, finished west coast style IPA's just aren't good enough for them.

Give me Head Hunter, Bodhi, or Mystic Mama all day every day.

 

I don't find the look especially appealing, but the biggest negative those IPAs have in common is their flavor profile, or lack thereof. The beers are so dry/yeasty, I really don't get much out of them.

I sometimes think when I'm drinking Head Hunter at the source, ' This is the best IPA on the planet'. It may not be for everybody, but like you said, I would be fine if it was the only one available. Throw in the others you mention and I am a pig in poo poo.

 

Yes, my issue is definitely with the flavor as well. I just like to jab a bit when it comes to the trashy appearance. Ask some of our award-winning brewers in Ohio how they feel about the turbid IPA...

 

Your dishwater is yellow and orange?

While it doesn't have to be hazy, the NE style IPA scratched an itch a lot of people didn't know they had.

If you like a shit ton of pine, grapefruit, and bitterness, or herbal and floral hops, West Coast or even old school IPA doesn't need fixed because it ain't broke to you.

But as you all know hops can exude everything from orange, mango, and pineapple, to all sorts of levels of cannabis, and all of these attributes are more often than not amped up in NE IPA as opposed to West Coast style.

Some breweries that pride themselves in making West Coast style IPAs also make beers that have these fruitier or dank attributes, even with a decent amount of clarity, but they are few and far between and because they are widely distro'd they often lose these attributes rapidly.

There's all sorts of variables that go into a well-made NE style IPA, and it certainly isn't just the haze. Sure, many breweries that don't subscribe to the haze bash breweries that do, and profess that it's not to style, would crash and burn in a competition, etc. But, food for thought, Trillium filters their beer and uses centrifuges.