NC's Best Drinking IPAs/ DIPAs

Surf Wax has definitely run the gambit. Back when it was first debuted and taproom-only it was 100% Nelson if I'm not mistaken. Then they changed the hops because they didn't have enough Nelson to make large enough batches to distro. But even since that change it's been pretty different from batch to batch.

 

Had the new batch of Surf Wax today and thought it was very good. Better than the last few weeks' hoppy releases by a lot for me.

 

My take on surf wax.. after a few days in cans it has become more "hazy" still tastes amazing.. and imo up there with the best in NC. Especially for flagship/non one off beers.

 

Burial has really been driving me nuts with their inconsistent hops. It has gotten to the point where I have no idea what I am buying when I buy one of their beers. I live in Asheville and was excited to see a brewery in town start to lean towards NE style hops (for having so many breweries here I find it odd that there aren't more breweries keeping up on trends) but these last batches of Burial hops were a big disappointment. Dramatically changing a beer and still selling it under the same name seems like a terrible business model.

 

Had a Surf Wax last night. Only bought a single after being burned on GOB. It was much better than I expected it to be after said let down. Still not as good as the original batch I had.

 

I just had a "tropical lightning" at Wilmington brewing in the namesake town. I was quite impressed by it. It has a dry intense west coat tropical taste. Long lingering bitterness, reminds me of ruination or a similar beer. Overall, this beer and brewery seen overlooked. Its a nice treat for those not on the western side of the state.

 

For anyone living in the Raleigh area, Finback is taking over 3 taps at State of Beer this evening. Moss DIPA, Visible Spectrum IPA w/ mangos, and Faster than light Imp. Stout.

 

This is why I keep a keg of it on at my house- always consistent, fantastic west coast style IPA. But these guys can nail the NE style as well, they're latest batch of All the Cool Kids are Doing It with Citra/Mosaic is awesome. Since we're talking Wilmington, New Anthem just released an all Citra NE style IPA called Throwing Shade that is freaking delicious. I have a feeling that once beach season picks up, we'll have some folks starting to recognize that these two breweries are putting out some of the best IPAs in the state.

 

Agree with the Gang of Blades comments, it went from fantastic to just really good, to solid. I like what Burial is doing with Surf Wax, but I think they need to do a better job of highlighting which hop they are showcasing. The Vic Secret Surf Wax was impressive. They usually stamp the hop used with the canning date on the bottom.

 

Wilmington Brewing has been nearly dead silent and killing it with their IPAs for a couple of years. Their take on the New England IPAs is incredibly tasty. I still think they are still missing the mouth feel that you get from Trillium, Tree House, and Bissel. I will say that they are hitting all of the right tropical and dank resin notes and that they are doing it with the creative balance that makes Midtown Swank and Sneaky Goose so darn good. When John decides it is time to drop his own take on double dry hopped monster it will be special. Until then....I hope they bring Trendy back alongside All the Cool Kids are Doing It.

This winter has seen a marked uptick in the volume of humans packing into WBC on the weekends, it will be interesting to see what happens this summer when the beach is in session.

 

Does Wilmington beer come to the Triangle ever?

 

They have also had one or two events at Beer Study, but its been limited. They are already plenty busy with just wilmington distro so no plans on rolling out distro to the Triangle just yet, but hopefully at some point. Also, they are installing a canning line this month so might start to see some cans floating up towards the triangle if bottle shops make the drive down. Wouldn't surprise me if they make some occasional drops in the triangle as well. I'm happy to post here if I hear of anything!

 

If you missed them at State of Beer last night, the Finback IPA with Mango and the DIPA are both fantastic and will be on at Trophy Maywood today.

 

Looking forward to the collaboration beer. I skipped out on Inside Joke, but I don't think I'll be skipping out on the Finback collab (assuming it is an IPA).

 

It is! IPA with pineapple puree.

 

Woah, when does that come out?

 

Hopefully 4/16

 

Has anyone had 3/30 cans of Surf Wax? Thoughts?