Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

Just to be clear, it seems a little silly to boycott a brewery based on what our opinion of a NE style ipa should be when there isn't an official definition and the NE stuff actually differs significantly between different NE Brewers- Treehouse/Trillium are dissimilar to HF, Alchemist, etc...

 

Were those ever IL distro?

 

from all of the discussion on Chicago NE ipa's my impression is that THE most important characteristic BA's are expecting is "the juice look". feel, taste, bitterness, price all seem to be forgiven or overlooked as a variation if the look is there. But if you don't have the look down & label as a NE IPA I think some blow back can be expected

 

Nope

 

The Tighthead Pitcher of Nectar looks amazing. Getting a growler today, will report back.

 

I meant and should have said deciding not to purchase their beers that have the "NE Style" descriptor on their label, not all of their beers. I've mentioned I'm not a "NE Style" devotee and I agree there is not an official definition because it's not an official style. However, I'd argue that 99.9% of the consumers who seek this style out are expecting beers labeled as "NE Style" to be turbid/hazy at the minimum. If the Tighthead "NE Style" beer above looked like Blazed Orange instead, you don't think they'd get any criticism? They'd probably get ridiculed on social media.
The majority of breweries in the Northeast do not brew IPAs in the same style so having a blanket descriptor called "NE Style" is in itself a misnomer imo. The 'NE Style" should really be renamed 'Tree House Style" as imo this is what most consumers are expecting when it comes to beers labeled as "NE Style" and breweries making beers they describe as "NE Style" are taking advantage of this consumer expectation while raking in the corresponding sales. Sure, Hop Butcher can label all of their IPAs and Pale Ales as "NE Style", since in the literal sense there are assuredly beers in the Northeast which are similarly styled to each of them, whether from Tree House, Trillium, Maine Beer Co or perhaps even Samuel Adams.

 

Nicely compiled list. Only one I would add is to Ram - Hops on Hops.

 

Stopped in there today grabbed a glass of Pticher of Nectar and a Howler. I honestly was impressed. Most of Tightheads stuff is kinda meh...No disrespect to them just not for me. BUT....They nailed this one..Nice citrus..Not overly bitter...Maybe lacks a little of that creamy mouthfeel of a Bern's brew but it's damn close. Definitely well done by Tighthead

 

You mean Vallejo.

 

Tried Hop Butcher Smoke Filled Room tonight...seems they've totally lost the plot. Had to drain pour 6oz.

The Colombian coffee stout was excellent last year, I hope that's next. I'm sitting out all IPAs from them unless they go back to the batch 1 Galaxy Bowl glory days.

 

That's absolutely insane. At this point HB doesn't even belong in the same discussion as HA.

 

That's a joke. HB isn't even in the same realm as Half Acre. There's a reason HA has been around for as long as they have.

To me, HB is fueled by the Hype Machine that is Chicago. Calling something "NE style" when it's not...Mis representing photos on IG. Everything I've had from them has been medicore at best and def won't be shelling out any money for their stuff again. Just my opinion but different strokes for different folks

 

Last night I had a crowler of Juicy Bits, and today I shared a crowler of Extra Juicy Bits followed by a can of Alter Ego (thanks @TriGuy20) - what incredible variations of the style.

It's obvious but I have to tell you, Alter Ego is light years ahead of anything coming out of the Midwest. The only options that were remotely close were from Ram. It was my first Tree House can and I was blown away by how much better it was. Top notch

 

If HA tweaked Jonah (of out of all their beers) to be "hazy" people would be all over that shit. I think it's their closest beer to a NE style than Animal Law, IMO. VERY little bitterness it that one.....

 

Absolutely

 

Who is this Jonah and who does he work for!

 

Sometimes you get the whale, and sometimes the whale gets you.

 

Hey there,

BJ from Forbidden Root. Apologies in advance for the loooong post.

Someone told me about this thread a little while ago and I've been checking in on it every now and again. There's some good discussion going on here re: the NE Style. A couple things are jumping out at me and I thought I would try to add my thoughts to the discussion.

It seems that "NE" means different things to different people. Some think of Heady Topper/Lawsons, others think Trillium/TH/Other Half/etc. To date, all of the aforementioned could be accurately described as "NE-style". My guess is that it will become a real style (BJCP) in the next 2-5 years. Until then, it's up for debate.

Might be helpful to lay out some characteristics of the different interpretations. Here's a start, feel free to add/edit as you see fit. The brewery examples and characteristics are not, by no means, exhaustive.

Alchemist/Lawsons:
Very similar to a midwest PA/IPA/DIPA but with some tweaks
Relatively similar IBUs
Noticeably more yeast driven fruity esters
Slight haze, clearly not fined. Some settling in the package
Water profile is only slightly softer than, say, Chicago hard water (HA, FFF, Pipeworks, etc)
A fucking pleasure to drink

Trillium/TH/Other Half/etc.
A very different animal than the midwest PA/IPA/DIPA
Very low IBUs, sometimes less than 1/2 of the total IBU of midwest
Yeast driven fruity esters
Extreme haze
Intense aroma (greater than any other variations of the style)
Water profile is extremely soft, bordering on mineral-y
More akin to drinking an unsweetened juice than a beer
A fucking pleasure to drink

I would put Hill Farmstead directly in middle of the two groups.

Personally, I think that the official style is going to net out more towards Trillium than Alchemist because it's further from the current classic American IPA style and, imo, actually warrants it's own category. There was evidence of this when I was in Boston a couple weeks ago for the Extreme Beer Fest. Every "hoppy" brewery out there is brewing one. It seems it's a race to have the juiciest, cloudiest and furthest from "beer" as possible. Some have pushed the boundaries too far and I'm sure the market will correct it. Soon, we'll land on a worthy and useful style description.

Now, let's talk about some problems that are popping up in Chicagoland re: the style.
But before I get into that, it's important to note that just about every brewery putting these out around here have only been doing so for <1 year. Some, only a matter of months. So there are some lessons being learned and some beta trials (inadvertently) going on by all the beer buyers in this thread. Most of the "real" NE brewers have been keeping their exact processes under wraps. Anyone in this area attempting to clone them is going to have to figure some shit out on their own.

Now back to the differences/problems that I have tasted in our beers and other's early attempts at the style...

Yeast - You should not be smelling/tasting yeast in the finished beer. Belgian phenolic character is a flaw, imo. (this is especially true for someone like me who is not a fan of Belgo-American IPAs). You should also not be seeing a huge amount of yeast settling out in the packaged beer. Some settling is expected...but it should not amount to a 1/4" of trub at the bottom of a can/bottle. This seems to be the single biggest hurdle for the Chicago breweries. Many are playing with different yeast strains looking for a sustainable solution. Sustainable, being the key word there. Most business models out there don't allow for a new pitch of a spendy yeast blend each and every batch.

Bitterness - This one is all over the map. I'm guessing it comes down to brewer's preference. Maybe even some unintended targets being missed due to it being less reliable to calculate IBUs for whirlpool additions for folks without a lab or without sending out for lab analysis. A few that I have had have a pretty harsh bitterness that persisted. Bitterness should be in harmony with the sweetness* of the beer. In case you are wondering, I prefer the clean low bitterness that fades quickly. If I wanted something more intense, I'll just drink any WC or Midwest IPA. *notice, I didn't say "maltiness" ...more on that later

Malt and balance - The midwest (Bell's/FFF/etc.) profile of balanced (malt & bitterness) but turned up to 11, has enjoyed decades of success in the region. I don't believe that a NE style should simply be a hazy version of the above. My favorite examples of the NE style are basically devoid of malt flavor. Certainly no crystal malt present. They are also very low in bitterness. But the resulting beer is still balanced.

Mouthfeel. There is a bit of variation on this out there as well. Again, if the target is something totally different than a midwest IPA, then a softer (pillowy) mouthfeel is a great way to set it apart. Water additions and oats are being used to create the softer body. The latter is a slippery slope as oats do contribute flavor and an "oaty" IPA is missing the mark, imo.

Hops - There should not be hop debris in the finished beer. If your throat is scratchy or some hop burn is present in your esophagus...this is a flaw. The blend of hops in these beers is where some brewers will shine more than others. It's not all about throwing 100% Galaxy in a beer and waiting for the $ to flow in. Hops change from lot to lot and year to year. An outstanding single hop beer is like catching lightning in a bottle. I've had only 2 in my life. It's crazy expensive (when using Nelson, Galaxy, etc) and unsustainable. Creating your own desired profile by blending the hops you have to work with is an art form. And will, almost always, result in a more interesting beer (given a capable brewer).

When judging a brewery's attempt at the style, it's important to keep in mind the that the target (for now) is rather large and moving. Furthermore, I would hope that no one is actually trying to clone Trillium/TH/etc. If you are trying to ape another brewery's beer than you will never brew a better beer than them. If possible, talk with the brewers and ask them what they are trying to achieve. More importantly, broaden your expectations a bit when trying the beer. You might find that the beer in front of you is better than 99% of them out there...but gets "dinged" because it wasn't hazy enough.

I don't want this to come off as a shameless plug but there really isn't any other way to bring it up...

We are hosting a NEIPA tap takeover at Forbidden Root on May 25th (during Craft Beer Week). This should be a great opportunity to meet the brewers (if available) and discuss what you love (or don't love) about the beers in person.

Confirmed so far -

Forbidden Root
Mikerphone
Hailstorm
Noon Whistle
Marz
Illuminated
Lake Effect
Sketchbook
Hubbards Cave
Transient (maybe)
Ram (Well, Berns said yes...maybe More Brewing now?)

More details to come as the date gets closer.

Whew, that was a long post. Seriously though, I'm liking the candid discussion going on here and want to keep it rolling.

-BJ