New to Ohio (2018)

Has Matt Cole said he'll brew NEIPAs at the new place? That'd be absolutely amazing because I know he'd do well.

 

I'd have no problem with them dabbling in it and doing one here and there but I think it would be a real shame if they chased that current style. To me their identity is so much ingrained a dank, pungent, and bitter yet extremely palatable ipa's (that I truly feel no brewer does better). Not saying they would lose they identity if they brewed a NEIPA here and there but I'd hate for it to become their focus.

 

Not exactly, but honestly, all the signs are there.

He has commented about his new brewing system that allows for wort chilling before hop additions, for maximum aroma/flavor without bitterness during whirlpool. Key attribute to NE IPA’s, of course.

Also, the ability now to fermentation dry-hop, which they didn’t at the current facility due to equipment limitations. That is another very important procedure in NE IPA’s, for the biotransformation dry hopping. I want to say he mentioned the biotransformation thing directly in some interview, but don’t quote me on that.

A new IPA is coming (it sounds like a full-time offering?) that is lower ABV than Head Hunter but lower bitterness and more tropical fruit notes. So it at least is a sign of less bitter, west-coast style pales/IPA’s in the works.

Canton just released a NE IPA. I’m sure if Matt Cole was that against them, he wouldn’t allow them to do it.

In the interviews, he had made mention that just because he doesn’t love a particular style (sours, in this case) he still wants to brew and be the best at them… Hence the large sour production push at the new place. He mentioned sours are still growing on him… So it sounds like he is open minded, which is good.

Fat Head’s already does epic with diversity in their portfolio. Their German game is top notch (Zwickerla Helles, Alpenglo, Goggle Fogger, Dortmunder, etc…), the IPA’s of course are some of the best available (for WC style) and their stout and barrel aging is excellent as well. One of the things I appreciate most about Fat Head’s and their very high quality across the board. It’s nearly impossible, honestly, to get a bad beer at Fat Head’s if you like the particular style. Most breweries are not like that.

I think introducing Hazy/NE Styles are for sure coming with their new brewing system. I don’t expect the offshoots like the milkshakes and all that, but the typical Galaxy/Vic Secret/Columbus/Citra/Simcoe hopped NE IPA’s for sure with the proper yeast strain, most definitely. I *do* expect more balance with their versions as well, not overly sweet which is oh so common with breweries attempting. I think more along the lines of Trillium, that tend to have a really nice bittering and balance to all the juiciness as well. That’s my hope, at least! Those are the BEST versions of the style. Can’t stand the overly sweet, under attenuated versions honestly.

 

Anybody see this release in NE Ohio yet? Looking to get some for the 4th but haven't seen it at my normal spots yet.

 

Cases for NEO just went up on a truck yesterday. Likely none delivered until Thurs, unfortunately. Bad timing.

 

The initial drop hit a few weeks ago, you may be able to still find some at a Heinen's near you.

 

Yeah...I mean Fat Head's has brewed like 4-5 NE IPAs that I alone have drank, probably more at this point. Not sure why this is still a question. They may not brew them in massive quantities, but if you haven't had a Fat Heads NE IPA at this point, you're not trying hard enough.

 

Hmm.. I go to Fat Heads a lot and follow them on social media and have never heard of them brewing a NEIPA. I've heard of them at their old Portland location, but nothing in CLE.

 

I feel like we've had this discussion a few times, but I've had a fully opaque and super aromatic DDH version of Head Hunter years ago that was as close to an NE IPA you can get without labeling it as such, Love it or Haze It in Portland, and Birds in the Brewhouse in Canton.

Having a couple NE IPA guest drafts at the Saloon may have inflated my perception of drinking a few other FH NE IPAs... And maybe the location of the brewery matters to you, but to me, Fat Head's is Fat Head's--they're not going to allow something to be brewed and sold under any of their rooves that they're diametrically opposed to, so the cat's out of the bag on whether they will brew it. It's now just a matter of how much and how often, and where. But if you can get Masthead and others fairly regularly at their own place, they're at least trying to scratch that itch in the meantime.

That having been said, I would temper expectations, because I don't think it's automatic for them to excel at this style. Many of their clear, Midwest and West Coast style IPAs are better and more drinkable than 99% of NE IPAs, imo.

 

NE IPA is horseshite, but the only truly hazy ipa they brewed was just done in Canton; you aren't mistaken

 

NEIPA fans seem to come up with whatever definitions of the style they want just to justify their craze.

One of the main reasons I was initially against giving NEIPA its own recognized style branch is because no one has proven that they actually can define the style in any consistent way. If you want it to be a legitimate style then give it some sort of parameters, not just how it tastes to you. There should be some brewing guidelines.

A double dry hopped version of Head Hunter counts as a NEIPA? Please, man.

 

First time someone called me an NE IPA fan, especially when I was advocating for quite the opposite, lmfao...

I presume to guess you've never had DDH Head Hunter...? It's appearance, aroma, flavor, and feel were all equal to, even slightly better than, some of the most popular NE IPAs out there that I have had the pleasure, or not, of trying. Yeah, it's pretty basic.

But then again, I don't consider NE IPA a style, but a sub-style. No need for a new entry on the overly populated style reference guide, that's for damn sure. I'm partly a believer that the style might actually become much less popular than more established styles in the long run.

On that subject, I just came back from Platform, and their "NE IPA" and "Milkshake IPAs" (I can't believe they have separate sections for all these things) are all over the map. One of the NE IPAs tasted like a 6 month old oxidized tongue thrashing rug heavy West Coast IPA...and when 95% of their menu consists of variations on IPA, and kettle sours, its kind of defeating when their lager is the best thing to be had.

 

So its DDH and tastes, looks, feels and smells better than other NEIPAs. How does that make it a NEIPA? DDHing isn't exclusive to NEIPA, although at this point I'm sure many think it is. DDH a beer doesn't change its style.

 

Cool story bro. Dare I ask, what style is DDH Head Hunter, then? As opposed to...Doppelganger? What style...? Oh keeper of styles! Especially if NE IPA isn't one...

It seems to me you haven't kept up, despite ample opportunity over the past 5 or more years, with the debates and discussions regarding what makes an NE IPA. Who originated NE IPA? Alchemist...yeah? And then...who tried to emulate it? Hill Farmstead, Tree House, Lawson's, Trillium, etc.? All via, what, the same exact method? No.

If you've had any of their beers, you'd know they're all drastically different. Maybe some of their yeast strains share a common thread, but not always. Simply put, they were aiming for the same experience with appearance, aroma, and feel as primary factors, as well as lower bitterness in flavor.

These are also attributes DDH Head Hunter shares.

It's not a legally defined term.

It's a subjective experience.

Your constant drive to naysay without any kind of descriptive experience doesn't change the actual experience, if you'd dare to actually try an acutal "NE IPA" in relatively quick succession after the rare availability of DDH Head Hunter. If you ever get a chance, you'll find they aren't perceptibly contrasting.

 

If it tastes good, I'll drink it... I don't care what the brewers or the nerds call it. But an IPA is just that to me; I will never speak the term NE IPA, unless it in a sarcastic way.

 

To answer the question, which is much easier than you think it is...
DDH version of and American IPA is an American IPA.

Is a barrel aged version of an American Imperial Stout not an American Imperial Stout?

Is a Kriek or cherry lambic not a lambic?

Is this some sort of 3rd wave "did you just assume my style" type of thinking? "If I identify this witbier as a NEIPA you can't tell me I'm wrong"

 

Staying on topic, we're talking about Fat Head's, a brewery that for some reason has a reputation among many on this forum for being anti-NE IPA and anti-hazy IPA. Kind of like how Jackie O's did, until they didn't.

Yet, years ago, FH turned their flagship beer into a super hazy (unfruited) IPA with all of the attributes of an NE IPA: hazy af, very aromatic, more juicy, more pillowy body, less bitter, dry finish, etc.

If you want to pretend that didn't happen, fine. And if you call it an IPA, congratulations, so do I. But so is an NE IPA, especially in a world where you deny NE IPA is a separate style.

Either way, since then, they've put other Fat Head's branded beers on their own Fat Head's branded menus that are explicitly labeled as NE IPAs. In the meantime, if I want to call DDH Head Hunter an NE IPA, or even just continue to describe my experience of it as similar to an NE IPA, sue me. Since you seem to use FH to justify your "get of my lawn" approach to beer, enjoy watching that last anti-NE IPA pillar fall before you.

 

What beer are you drinking?? HH is still a bitter, aggressive WCIPA if I've ever seen one.

 

Double Dry Hopped Head Hunter. Had it? It's been a while--almost two years in fact. Not sure how often, if ever, it's been on draft at a FH location.

And I don't find regular Head Hunter to be all that aggressive, which works in its favor.

 

Your response read that you were using those descriptors for REGULAR HH, not the special version.