Indiana Beer love

Sorry for my ignorance but what's the rage with the NEIPA style?

Breweries like Hill Farmstead - Trillium - Tree House - Alchemist start all this?

What makes an IPA fall into this style/category?

Also, what are some good NEIPA examples available locally?

 

I'll only address the "rage."

As a result of an extremely generous BA that I recently did a trade with, I was gifted a can of M-43 and Heady Topper. I opened the M-43 (supposed to be very fresh - 3ish weeks, but I admittedly forgot to look). I hate IPAs normally because they are so bitter. That's also why I don't really drink almost any regular stouts - they are usually too bitter (and lack flavor other than "dark, Roast, chocolate, or char"). I was able tod rink the entire M-43 by myself. The hops are a little "resin-y" for my tastes (i.e. I think hops are just not my favorite flavor profile), but I actually enjoyed it. The first IPA I have been able to enjoy.

Apparently NE style is usually characteristic of being extremely low on the bitter scale. For me, you'll never see me drink an IPA that isn't NE style on account of the fact that I can't deal with bitterness.

 

On an unrelated note to my above post - I am presently enjoying a BA Beard Tax from Black Acre. I think it's a solid 4-4.25. Not earth shattering, but worth grabbing a 4-pack if available. Price is reasonable for the quality as well.

 

Look at you go! I’m so proud of you (almost shed a tear). Pretty soon you’ll be chasing all dat haze......

 

The rage is that these beers are ridiculously juicy and insanely crushable. They are also harder to get a hold of which obviously makes them better than regular IPA's. Of course.

I would say that Alchemist, with Heady Topper, probably started all of this, but the style has evolved to be more juicy and less bitter...Heady still has a high amount of bitterness so it doesn't really fit into what the style has become anymore IMO. Hill Farmstead has been doing this for several years as well.

It's not really an "official" style but these beers are generally known for their haziness and they almost look like orange juice. Again they are super juicy and low on IBU's generally (35-45/50 range).

There are almost no good local examples of the style. Rock Bottom 86th Street was doing the best example until they closed last week. I'd be on the lookout for the style at the downtown Rock Bottom location. 450 North brewing continues to try to do it....have heard mixed reviews. Bare Hands in Granger has done a few different ones with Drain the Swamp being the best of theirs IMO. Daredevil has done DDH Galaxy Lift Off which resembled the style a bit and it was fantastic. They recently released Denali DDH Lift Off which isn't as good as the Galaxy version.

Honestly your best bet is to drive to Michigan and find literally any liquor store and buy Old Nation M-43. It's a great example of the style...it's affordable and is virtually everywhere in the state. If you're local to Indy, I have some of it....happy to meet up and give you a can of it if you want to try it.

 

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I've been doing some reading and learning more about the style and looking forward to trying some examples. Ironically my cousin is coming down from MI this weekend and mentioned M43 a few days ago before I realized what it is. I'm definitely having him bring me down some now that I know. I appreciate the offer to share a can of M43. While it appears I will be getting some this weekend, I may be interested in trading other beer in the future.

 

Also, depending on what part of Indiana you are from, SoJ from Maplewood can be found in NWI. And if you are that close, just cross over to Chicago because that is going to be your best bet of frequent and delicious NE IPAs.

 

I am not a fan of the style, at all. I find them to be a mess, quite honestly, and this is just me - so don't take offense, if your a Haze-bro.

All I get, and this is pretty consistent from brewery to brewery, is a beer that is pretty drinkable for the first third of the pint, but from there it starts to go downhill, and quick. The last third of the pint is nearly always undrinkable - a grapefruit flavor that just overpowers me, and oftentimes has a weird burning sensation at the back of the palate, almost like a hot pepper, but a little different. It's hard to describe.

And, if you pour it in a glass, don't let it settle - the particulate matter that will coalesce is not pretty, and who knows what the hell it is. Yeast, Proteins? Or? I think that's why Heady Topper always insisted that you drink it straight from the can, because they didn't want you to see what the hell was floating in the beer.

I've had a couple of outliers that didn't kill me, but in general, I would rather drink a Budweiser. I attribute the "rage" to the Haze-bro mentality of a lemmings jumping off of a cliff. Y'all have a good time, but it's not for me.

Too harsh?

 

Too harsh.

I'm perfectly fine with you not liking the style.

Calling people who do like the style lemmings? Yeah, that's just dumb.

My opinion.

 

It's not dumb if it's true.

 

For Fuck's sake.

 

So condescending. As you were.

 

Sigh.

As a follow up, to clarify, I didn't mean lemmings in a negative light, it's just a term I used to illustrate the herd mentality of the craft beer crowd (of which I am indeed one). At one point or another I'm guessing everyone on this forum has stood in line for a beer release, or a hard to get beer. Zombie Dust, Dark Lord, the original Hunters variants at 18th, and now at other places like Windmill, and so on. And oftentimes, for a beer that we have never tasted before, so we don't know if it is even any good.

Carry on.

 

Hey Guys,

I'm pretty new to this whole "searching out beer" thing. We rarely go to bars - when we do it is almost never planned. Could use some help.

My wife is taking me to see Trombone Shorty tomorrow for my birthday on Tuesday. We'll be downtown, but I'm just kind of wondering if there's any way to search for good BA Stout tappings in the city. -Probably something to enjoy before we go (starts at 8pm), but potentially after.

I know that untapped exists, but i don't have anything specific I am looking for, and I'm not hip to where I should be looking in Indy, or where relative to where I'll be, etc.

I'm a novice! Help me out!

 

Mass Ave. has a lot of good spots for beers....The Tap, Macnivens, Mass Ave. Pub, Chatham Tap, Fat Dans Deli. South of downtown is La Margarita which usually has one of the best tap lists in the city despite only having 8 or so beers on tap. Downtown I'd probably go with Tomlinson Tap Room. Sometimes you can use untappd to find out what bars are serving...sometimes places will post their taplist online (Tom Tap does this for sure and La Marg posts on their website somewhat frequently). I'd say it could be challenging to find a barrel aged stout on tap most anywhere because it isn't all that common here from my experience. I'd say just pick one of those bars and enjoy whatever they have! Happy birthday!

 

Much appreciated! This will be super helpful for ...7 months from now when Folk Fest rolls back around!

 

yeah wish it could be more helpful for you for tomorrow, but outside of following every bar on social media it can be challenging trying to find specific tapping events in the city. good luck!

 

Just purchased sixpacks of Triton Deadeye Stout and Railsplitter. Happily purchased at Kroger. I'm happy to support a brewer that is fighting for their customers. Maybe soon I can buy it on Sundays (maybe even cold) at Kroger.

 

Windmill is doing All Memes Day on Saturday. Cans of six different memes will be for sale. If you were lucky enough to get tickets, you could reserve a variety six pack. Two of the Memes are new.

Pretty sure @YoungLad will be there enjoying NE IPAs.

 

I'm always ready to jump off a cliff...