Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by SeanBond, Aug 29, 2016.

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  1. jlsims04

    jlsims04 Initiate (0) Jul 14, 2013 Illinois

    Top Tier Forbidden Root and Corridor
    Almost Top Tier - HB (IDK their beer just works for me)
    Really Damn Good - Miker, Hubbard
     
    #4761 jlsims04, Jun 6, 2017
  2. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,735) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Try not to go too negative on beers here or KrajDoesBeer will bite your head off....

     
    #4762 HouseofWortship, Jun 6, 2017
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  3. KrajDoesBeer

    KrajDoesBeer Savant (1,228) Aug 2, 2014 Illinois
    Trader

    This isn't trolling like you.... and I'm not close to the only one that's said that about you.. and mine was a question wondering what your actual thought process on your posts!
     
    #4763 KrajDoesBeer, Jun 6, 2017
  4. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,735) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I can't say anything abou their saisons, but their black IPA is solid and they have been on the cusp of hitting my taste preferences with their NEIPAs, they just haven't quite pushed it into that territory yet. They aren't bad hoppy beers, they are just not dissimilar enough from what's already out there. That is why it is such a shame that they weren't able to maintain the momentum they had from being what seemed like the first NEIPA in can to market in Chicago. It was their crown to give away and they have been passed hard by a lot of later to market brewers. They can still get back in this, but I think it needs to be a full time thing for them. Who couldn't pull for a local brewer that uses Chicago lore?
     
    #4764 HouseofWortship, Jun 6, 2017
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  5. jlsims04

    jlsims04 Initiate (0) Jul 14, 2013 Illinois

    God having to agree with you is hard lmao.

    I agree though. If they went full time i think they would quickly take over. They are extremly talented and would love to see them open their own space.
     
    #4765 jlsims04, Jun 6, 2017
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  6. KCUnited

    KCUnited Savant (1,038) Nov 11, 2014 Arizona
    Trader

    They (HB) don't seem to be struggling to move their stuff, I mean, once they've distributed it.
     
    #4766 KCUnited, Jun 6, 2017
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  7. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I think one of the interesting (and divisive) things about Hop Butcher is that 1) they're not trying to use the same yeast strains with each of their NE-style beers, and 2) they're clearly not aiming at the same target as some of the other guys.

    There's no doubt in my mind that guys like Forbidden Root and Corridor are leading the pack in terms of what most people around here expect an NE IPA to look/feel like (something similar to a Trillium, for example). And to be honest, I'm glad that we have a couple guys (or more) doing exactly that style, because it's one less thing I feel the need to trade for.

    Since that's the expected style, I completely understand why some people are getting bent out of shape over the taste/look/feel of some of the HB stuff. Since HB isn't as concerned with hitting that exact target, their offerings are going to vary a lot more stylistically, and that's obviously going to be controversial (not necessarily bad, just evocative of many different opinions). It's also a little more of a pain if you're looking for that "fix" that you can count on. Something that I find really interesting is that they only (to my knowledge) use Conan yeast (of Heady fame) in Galaxy Bowl, so that is already going to create some difference in their various beers. Either way, HB is more akin to a Half Acre or Alchemist for me; most of their beers don't have the look/feel of the FR/Corridor stuff, but they have a yeast/hop profile that I really enjoy, and are generally on the heavier side feel-wise (this latter portion more an Alchemist hallmark, obviously).
     
    #4767 SeanBond, Jun 6, 2017
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  8. flat_lander

    flat_lander Pooh-Bah (2,490) May 11, 2016 Illinois
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    So I saw a post a few pages back about Hop Butcher losing their (current?) brewing space. Any updates on that?
     
    #4768 flat_lander, Jun 6, 2017
  9. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I don't think they're officially kicked out yet (and are still brewing), and I assume they have backup plans. Anytime someone is dealing with Phil Tadros, I have to assume they are keeping a plan B in the back of their mind.
     
    #4769 SeanBond, Jun 6, 2017
  10. pauld5999

    pauld5999 Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2017 Illinois

    Yeah that was me, really appreciate that offer, I ended up getting over there on lunch yesterday and getting some crowlers. I think it was just a case of bad communication with the staff there, from past experiences they do not always have the most stellar of employees there and most seem to be pretty clueless about any of the special release beers and using the words "ram can" instead of crowlers helps too as much as I do not like to, ha. I am curious to know if they got their own machine or just borrowing Wheeling's, they had plenty of crowlers on-hand yesterday, were filling more and not imposing any limits
     
    #4770 pauld5999, Jun 6, 2017
  11. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,735) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I think the landlord is still in eviction proceedings with the tenant (Aquanaut) and that when the eviction happens they will probably allow Hop Butcher to continue to brew there for a monthly fee if they have solid credit, until the landlord is able to find a new full time tenant ....and even then the new tenant may continue to rent space to them...
     
    #4771 HouseofWortship, Jun 6, 2017
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  12. wolfpac255

    wolfpac255 Pundit (930) Apr 13, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    When they had it only on tap it was better. I got a growler and the look was fantastic. Smell was great too but the flavor didn't really pull through. A little bland for what hit the nose.

    The cans lost that opaque yellow hazy look and was more translucent. Not a bad beer, but definitely not fire.
     
    #4772 wolfpac255, Jun 6, 2017
  13. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yeah, this sounds about right.
     
    #4773 SeanBond, Jun 6, 2017
  14. prior2two

    prior2two Maven (1,490) Oct 18, 2013 Illinois
    Trader

    The one thing I don't understand about Hop Butcher, is why they got away from galaxy bowl. Once it was clear they had a hit, they made it 2 or 3 times within a 6 week period, which was refreshing.

    But then they went 3 months without making it, which was disappointing, but then to add to the disappointment, they made a bunch of beers that wer divisive at best.

    Rooting for them to succeed though. That's for sure.
     
    #4774 prior2two, Jun 6, 2017
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  15. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Is it possible that it's hard to get the hops? We know from previous comments by...BJ from FR, I think? that certain hop strains are pretty difficult to consistently get, and I believe galaxy was one of the harder ones. I know the HB guys like to experiment with new stuff, but I wouldn't be surprised if they also didn't have the choice in this case. Hell, GB flies off the shelves when they brew it, so I can't see much of an argument otherwise.

    It's entirely possible that a lot of these guys are getting hamstrung by being unable to make their most popular beers, because it's difficult as hell to get the "best" hops, especially in the massive quantities necessary to brew these beers.
     
    #4775 SeanBond, Jun 6, 2017
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  16. prior2two

    prior2two Maven (1,490) Oct 18, 2013 Illinois
    Trader

    That's what I was thinking also.
     
    #4776 prior2two, Jun 6, 2017
  17. galos11

    galos11 Savant (1,092) Jan 21, 2015 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Trader

    From what I hear they are actively looking for their own space as well.
     
    #4777 galos11, Jun 6, 2017
  18. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,735) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I feel like we Chicago beer geeks should set up a kickstarter fund to buy and store the best hops we can find and then vote on who to distribute them to based on which beers we feel are best using them....
     
    #4778 HouseofWortship, Jun 6, 2017
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  19. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    That would actually be pretty dope.


    Although from an artistic standpoint, it would blow for us to tell these brewers what to brew.


    But...it's hard to overlook how happy my mouth would be with a constant stream of citra, mosaic and galaxy coming in...
     
    #4779 SeanBond, Jun 6, 2017
  20. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,735) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Dystopian Future"
    "I'm sorry Mr. Bond, the last Mosaic hops in the city wound up being used in a Dark Matter iced coffee, not a beer...."
     
    #4780 HouseofWortship, Jun 6, 2017
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