Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

Considering most IPAs are 7% abv plus these days, I'm just going to lump anything under 7% as a NE Pale Ale. Sounds like those are more in your wheel house as the stuff you aren't a fan of seems to be leaning in high IPA abv or DIPA territory. I prefer the lower ABV NE stuff, just seem more well rounded in terms of flavor....

 

I love the continuous new batches and beers of NE IPAs coming out, but I keep wondering when we'll see one on store shelves as a regular, year round release...

 

That would be such a headache for the brewer. These things aren't shelf stable for very long. You can't risk shelf turding them. You'd have to send 1 case to each account to ensure they are moving and not collecting dust.

 

I feel you - Trillium and Tree House, known for being two of the big boys of the style, seem to have different ways of producing the style. Everything I've had from Trillium (Congress Street, Vicinity, Fort Point, Galaxy DH Fort Point) have all been very similar to what is in those Snoochie cans. Big citrus nose, juicy, not a super soft mouth feel, and a noticeable hop bite on the end. The vibe I get out of TH beers are just as juicy, VERY soft mouth feel, with just a little hop presence on the end to let you know they're in there.

That being said, if you aren't a huge fan of this batch of Snoochie, Trillium offerings probably aren't what you're looking for. I'm really looking forward to new offerings and experiments from BJ and Corridor as they dial it in to consistently hang with the heavy hitters.

 

Well said, I've had the same experience. It's not a hoppy bitterness but an astringent flavor on the finish.

 

I've gotten the astringent aftertaste bite from many NE style stuff from all over the country including Monkish, Other Half, Weldweks & NW and RAM etc locally....but I've had every (I think) FR offering and I've never gotten that bite in those beers. At all. Also never gotten really gotten that bite from Treehouse, Trillium, Transient or Great Notion now that I think about it.

Funny how everybody tastes things differently.

 

I think you mean correctly and incorrectly

 

Another batch of Stratus is being canned end of this week.

 

I forget - which is the one people most preferred? Stratus or Cumulus?

 

cumulus

 

I have to say that I definitely prefer Stratus, especially that last batch of it.

 

I was just gonna post that it has been awhile for Stratus, happy to hear this.

 

Old Nation (M-43) in Michigan seems to be doing this, hopefully someone here follows their lead...

 

My own preference and what seemed to be the general feeling was of the early batches Cumulus was the winner, for the more recent batches Stratus had improved a lot and jumped in the lead.

 

Love that beer. My favorite NE IPA from Michigan. If only it ever saw ditro in Chicago. But for now, I'll take a Chicagoland brewery doing a distro of NE IPA.

 

Van Hazen looks niiice. Going to have to head on over there tonight for a glass and some crowlers.

 

Lets us know your impressions please. Also if you can any info on how long they anticipate it being available? Thanks!

 

Just an FYI. These beers usually last through the weekend. That's even with their recent hype.

 

I read the description of Van Hazen and saw "passion fruit." Crap. I know it's not added and merely a note, but the passion fruit ruined the Fruit Punch for me. Here's hoping I'm being overly dramatic like I usually am.

 

Met BJP tonight at forbidden root and it just increased my excitement for what they are doing even more. Can't wait to try the radio swan cans when they release them. I really appreciate the thought he is putting into perfecting the neipas coming out of forbidden root.