Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

I have drank 2 of my 4 cans so far and I've had the exact same experience as you and @GuyFawkes .

 

galaxy pseudo is fantastic

 

I made this point in the Toppling Goliath thread, but if this recent batch of Galaxy Dry Hopped Pseudo Sue isn't a New England IPA, then I don't know what is.

Pillow-y mouthfeel, fruit-forward flavors, an opaque orange/yellow appearance and almost no bitterness.

I don't think Clark's ego will ever let him admit he's tailored his IPA's to fit this popular style, but I think that's exactly what Toppling Goliath has done.

And to their credit, they've done it well.

 

To be fair, King Sue and SoSus have always been like this (ultra hazy, ultra fruit-forward, very NE) going back to the first batches (in fact, especially the first batches).

 

I don’t remember King Sue being ultra hazy back in the day.

 

Those first batches were hit or miss from what I remember. Some of the bottles were epic New England style ipa, and others were junk. I remember it was right around the time when they changed the label.

But I agree with ya, I think the intent on Sosus was always for it to be “hazy” or “New England” in style

 

Stay Lit was a true collaboration between myself and Todd. We decided to build on the NEIPA knowledge that I had amassed at the time. Wood seemed like a good direction. Todd picked the woods/supplier and his fav base malt (Simpsons). The rest of the recipe (hops, lactose, etc) was chosen with harmony in mind.

It was intended to be a limited run. Brew 1 at FR to have on draft at DL. Brew 2 at FFF for limited distro. Brew 3 at FR for limited cans.

From what I can tell, FFF does collabs with friends - and none of us are at FR anymore. So I doubt you'll see Stay Lit again. But there is nothing stopping FR from brewing a beer very similar...though it will be tough because that beer had a couple happy accidents.

 

Oh hey! We missed you! Will you come to a FR share some time and arm wrestle the new guys?!?!?

 

My memory is short...did you guys ever do limited cans of Stay Lit?

Happy accidents? Like a Billy Madison "You ain't cool unless you pee your pants" kind thing?

My memory is short....did you guys ever do limited cans of Stay Lit?

 

No cans. Just the one batch at FR.
Accident example = the yeast under-performed, leaving the final beer sweeter than originally intended. Turns out, the added sweetness worked and helped set it apart from the rest of our line-up.

 

That Stay Lit promo photo with it in the middle of that candle lit pentagram is my LinkedIn profile photo’s spirit animal.

 

Would love it if you imparted some more knowledge here about brewing these NE styles. Your previous posts were super interesting and helpful!

You doing any homebrewing to keep those skills sharp??

 

I love how Pipeworks makes their 2nd? hazy beer ever and it is as good as anything else in Chicago.

 

Because if there is one thing Chicago has been clamoring for it's a NEIPA in a 22oz bottle that is available once a year....

 

Are you telling me that people prefer cans to bombers? That is news to me.

 

Of course. Every release that is not in a 4 pack of 16 ounce cans has the inevitable complaining about packaging. Pipeworks releases their 2nd hazy beer ever and it is incredible and people still complain.

 

I prefer bottles to cans, 12oz to 16oz and multiple bottles vs one larger bottle. It's great PW put out a well received NEIPA, but until they do so with the frequency of a TG it's a little like a rarely used rotation player putting up a 30 point game....

 

Saint Errant will be canning soon out of the Begyle space, just fyi.