Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

I don't know if I can handle the madness at FR this evening. I am still on the fence. I definitely will not be able to go before 7pm.

 

when i was there last night they said everytable was fully booked so i would assume shit show.

 

I'm glad I got to Corridor early enough to get a seat by the corner of the bar. I got to see the shitshow start a little after 5 pm LOL! Super Duper kicked fast. People ordering crowlers like crazy. A few of us got our tabs wrong and had to be corrected. But that didn't bother me too much because they were working their asses off with everyone wanting beers and crowlers.

I had all four of the hazy beers on tap there, and they were all great. I can't pick a favorite. I'll just say Reign in Punch was my 4th place finisher, only because it reminds me too much of Hawaiian Punch and I don't drink a lot of that stuff anymore.

 

Corridor was a shitshow with only four NEIPAs on tap. Forbidden Root is going to have 10-12 NEIPAs? Guys, all of us are going to FR tonight, but half of us ain't coming back! LOL bring your combat boots, you'll need them just to order a beer at the bar!

 

Lol. I wish I could make it. At a minimum it would be excellet people watching lol

 

Some of the Transient stuff was ~$24...

 

Seeing all of the craziness makes me really glad I'm getting less and less into NE IPAs. Been picking up a bunch of mixed sixers of "normal" PAs/IPAs and enjoying the crap out of them. I find it tough to have a lot of the NE IPAs in a row anyway.

 

ill be there sunday hoping to get some good crowlers

 

I agree. I get burnt out if I have more than 2 or 3 juice ipa's in a row. I love the taste but too many in a row and they are just not refreshing anymore.

 

Didn't realize it was so crazy. Makes me respect the guy who's been sending me their stuff even more!

 

I find a NE IPA / stout / NE IPA / stout rotation is pretty wonderful and literally intoxicating.

 

Got to Corridor at 915 last night.. it was still really busy.. both beers are really solid and I think RIP will change over next few weeks if ya snagged a crowler...

So FR booked all of its tables? Damn tonight maybe a little crazy.. in my time there they have always had a good amount of staff on... so should be good even if it's slammed...

 

This is why I didn't get crowlers last night. The bar was like 3 deep all around and there were two bartenders. Without some semblance of order, I didn't wasn't going to fight my way in. Could have taken 5 minutes or an hour. I'll try today when it is calmer. Be a lot cooler if the hostess could take to go orders and bring it out to you when it's ready....

I think the craze is because it's new and different. Hasn't been a lot of interesting stuff going on in the traditional IPA world. The only excitement for traditional IPAs is going to be from new hops. Loved FFF's Mistral IPA with the French hop- very traditional FFF IPA, but with hop flavor I've never had in a beer before.

 

Back to the Reign in Punch, the taste reminded me way too much of the more recent fish series offerings from Pipeworks which were mango/passion-fruit bombs. Some people love it, while others don't. Just not my cup of tea.

 

Might not make it out to Forbidden Root tonight, have a ton of stuff to do after work today. But I agree with @KrajDoesBeer every time I've been there they were well staffed and the staff has been real awesome, quick, helpful, and friendly, so I think even if Forbidden Root is packed it will be alright.

 

How much Van Hazen was made, does anybody know? I got there around 6:30 last night, and as said before, people were ordering crowlers like they were going out of style. I would say that 85% of people had a glass of it in front of them as well - that stuff may not last long if that keeps up...

 

We are currently at 6bbls left of Van Hazen. I expect it to last until Tuesday or Wednesday.