Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

Left to right based on DIPA/IPA/APA. Not putting adjunct variants in here.

Chicago area NE IPAs (distributed/served in Chicago and called NE IPA by the brewery)

• Mikerphone - Special Sauce
• RAM - Juicy, Morning Fog, Sharks with Laser Beams, NE Slapper, Hop Slush
• Maplewood - Son of Juice, Juice Pants
• Hailstorm - Stratus, Cumulus, Cirrus, Nimbus
• Transient - Juice is Loose
• Noon Whistle - Gummy Vortex, Zabba Abba, Funny Gummy
• Hop Butcher - Galaxy Bowl, Mellotron, Reply Hazy Try Again, I Want to Believe, Smoke Filled Room, Blazed Orange
• Corridor Brewery - Pale Afternoon
• Forbidden Root - Snoochie Boochies, Jacob Goes to Juicetown, Snooze Juice, Glow with the Flow
• 5 Rabbit - various adjunct styles at their taproom
• Marz - Midway ChiPA
• Tighthead - Pitcher of Nectar

Chicago area IPAs considered NE IPAs on this thread (but not directly called NE IPA by the brewery)

• Spiteful - Whale Tickler
• Mikerphone - Hey Ya!, Lunches Brunches Inverviews, The Get Fresh Flow, Mad Flavor, Thursty
• Hubbard's Cave - Fresh IIPA series
• Half Acre - Animal Law

A lot of other beers mentioned but not what I'd consider Chicago Area, but these are called NE IPA by the brewer and within an hour and a half

• Watermark - Murky Depths, Ghostmeal
• Transient - Obligatory, Crunchy Groove, Flightless
• 18th Street - Bechamel, Teddy Bear Picnic
• Burn Em - Vermonty Python
• Windmill - Two if By Citra

 

Damn, good work ChuckDiesel! Now who wants to add pricing/availability/release/container info?

 

First off solid list ChuckDiesel! So, I tried the latest Hop Butcher and while I liked Smoke Filled room more than IWTB, I think I might be done reaching for more Hop Butcher. I've picked up every release since GB, but I feel like I'm always hoping I get a beer on GB batch 1's level. I understand the hop profiles are different, but they haven't really worked. And each batch seems inconsistent on several levels.

I'd rather have them work on GB and maybe another, then getting a new mediocre beer every single release.

 

I really enjoyed HB's Galaxy Bowl, Mellotron, and RH. Everything after that has dropped of significantly. Tried the new offerings along side Werk Force Brewing "Oats Made Me Do It" and OMMDI was more of the "style" than the latest HB. Disappointing about HB but happy to know that Werk Force has a great offering.

 

i picked up a 4pk of Blazed Orange today. based off of the description, i should love it. i'll find out soon enough.

 

With you, I've been a fan of pre-Galaxy Bowl Hop Butcher beers as well (Your Wish is Granted and even Watching for Falling Coconuts). I'm not a huge devotee of NE IPAs but reading these threads I realize for the NE IPA fans that the first batch of Galaxy Bowl was a relative home run. But then HB goes ahead and labels all subsequent beers as 'NE Style" in what looks to me as leveraging that GB goodwill to these other beers.

HB has had many problems with their distribution of their beers and imo labeling all of their subsequent IPAs, Pale Ales, etc as 'NE Style" when in some cases they are not even close to what is considered the norm is really poor form imo and has to be thought of as capitalizing on the trend to keep sales going. Either that or they have no f&*kn clue what they are doing wrt "NE Style" beers. It's good to see that folks are realizing HB are being disingenuous with their labeling and deciding not to purchase their beers until they wake up. Keep this brewery honest as well as any other.

 

I was able to try Exposition Coffee Stout and it was indeed good but I'm afraid they might do that on the next go 'round. But if they label "Good Ryes Wear Black" as NE Style I'll consider them as f'n traitors. Move to Boston yew bstrds!

 

Tighthead's Picture of nectar (batch 1?) is good. It reminds me of gummy vortex with a bitter bite on the back end.

It doesn't have the citrus burst as others, but the mouthfeel and color is spot on.

They have it on tap with 32oz and 64oz grower options.

 

Got to try exsqueeze me. It's very good, but it's no Obligatory or Flightless. It reminds me of Navaja actually. It's kind of a tweener IPA. Not totally NE style, but much sweeter than west coast or Midwest.

Obligatory is so money though.

 

Don't forget Hops on Hops for RAM. Good list though. Could also add Peach Boy for Noon Whistle. I think Obligatory/Exsqueeze me count as NE beers even if they aren't totally in the TH/Trillium style.

 

I think Obligatory and Flightless especially are very much in the trillium style.

 

Damn, definitely missed hops on hops. That was my favorite of those good old days when Shaun the brewer was at RAM Schaumburg.

Exqueeze me is definitely NE style. It's more like Vermont style than Mass IMO

For sure - they're in the third part of the list because they never got distro in Chicago.