What "hype breweries" are actually worth their hype?

beer aficionados in Chicago had hyped up Equilibrium quite a bit.

perhaps we didn't get their best stuff, but they did a drop of 4-5 cans and Paradise City a few months back. there are pallets of some of them still sitting at the signature liquor store locally.

tried photon, MC2, energy level, relative rates, sexier fluctuation and paradise city.

given the hype, i was completely underwhelmed and I only bought a 4 pack of the collab with D9. none of them were "bad" beers, just not even close to the level i was expecting.

 

Tree House.
They started small, earned a loyal fan base, then grew really fast. The "Hype" is a result of this.
The first brewery grew out of it's self and the new place has plenty of parking and a shuttle bus. The lines can be long yet the availability of the classic beers is solid. They handle the demand.
Great NEIPAs and stouts.

 

Funny; I had just been thinking about how the hype for Three Floyds had died. It was perhaps the most heavily hyped brewery in the country when I first started getting into craft beer in the mid-'00s. It was famous for challenging styles that were the toast of craft beer fandom back then but that simply don't play in the late '10s to the easy-and-sweet-oriented contemporary hype-driving consumers as craft beer's customer base has broadened. Three Floyds just started distributing in the Twin Cities area to notably limited fanfare. I like Three Floyds, but the scenesters have downgraded to much dumber fare (NEIPAs, pastry stouts, fruited kettle sours; you know the drill).

 

How much do you have to pay for their beer? I'm not far but I've never been.

 

Great question, and my answer might be the example I believe you're seeking. Highland Park Brewery: The Hermisillio Highland Pk. and their Chinatown location (both Los Angeles) offer the same beer releases most of the time. The Chinatown location will get the "lets all stand in one line" BS that dummies do rather than pony up to the bar and let the beertender work the bar. The highland Park location is way more chill and has a more nuianced clientele that knows how to behave in bars. Obviously it's always about beer but a good local vibe doesn't hurt.
Also "worth the hype" tasting rooms: Indie Brewing LA , Great Notion Portland, Sierra Nevada Chico, Nikasa Eugene Or., Crux Fermentation Project Bend Or., M Special Goleta Ca.

 

I’d say that Alchemist is perhaps the most OVER hyped beer. Maybe it’s by being the first NEIPA or tough to get, but I wasn’t so impressed based on the hysteria and then what I actually tasted. Not saying it’s bad, by any means, just saying it may not be worth the hype.

 

Troon for sure is hyped, but I think it’s because of the scarcity and the infantilism amount brewed in each batch. I have had some at the restaurant on site and can say it’s pretty darn good though. Worth the hype though?

 

Alchemist is one I see hyped a lot, especially for "Heady Topper" (which is great - but not as good as their Skadoosh or Focal Banger ), but do I LOVE their stout called "Luscious". It is absolutely gorgeous if you get a chance to get a few.

 

EQ just did a drop here in Michigan a few weeks ago, and I was similarly a bit underwhelmed. We got Middletown Waves, Breaking Enigma, MC2, and a couple others. Really really juicy, to the point of feeling a little underdeveloped/thin. I was expecting something a bit more, only bought a handful of cans.

 

Had Head High for the first time last week and also had some Cape May beers. Have had Carton beers in the past. NJ is killing it.

 

These breweries are real quit amazing maybe super hyped, but a well keep secret out of area.

 

Angry Chair always delivers on what they set out to do IMO. Releases, while busy, are well organized and run smoothly

 

Fremont Brewing has earned all their hype.

Urban Family in Seattle deserves way more hype.

 

In the same vein, I always enjoy reading these snobbish comments for TH, like "I live next door to TH, but I never walk in due to the hype" or "Julius, nowadays, is crap" or "TH hasn't brewed anything noteworthy since the glory days in Monson". Nowadays, EVERYBODY has the chance, every single day, to get TH cans in abundance, choosing from a list of around 10 cans and bottles of great IPAs and stouts for 4-5-10$. On top of that, you have the chance now to get more frequently your hands on the scarce cans, and you keep nagging?. I have drunk several times TH and visited the new place two times already. I wish I could live closer to such an amazing brewery!

 

I'll be the oddball.

Schlenkerla in Bamberg.The OG lived up to the hype.



(Love you too, Spezial!)

 

Thread winner right here

 

Tree House is dope- I have had other NEIPAs and pastry stouts that are as good or almost as good, but TH also sells beers cheaper than most of those close competitors, so yeah they are hyped but deserve it. I also have to give props to Alchemist on their pricing. Great beer at a fair price. I also thing the HF shelf farmstead ales are a good deal.

 

I don't think there are any breweries around here that have any hype associated with them anymore. I've stopped going to, or buying beer from, more than half the breweries in the state (mostly the ones opened in the last 5 years) because they've all jumped on the >$12/4-pack (both 12oz & 16oz cans) train of thought.

 

You’re upset that they’re charging more than 12 bucks for 4 16oz cans? For NEIPA around the country 16-20 is par for the course. Even the cheaper 4 packs (Heady topped, tree house rotational) are 14/15 bucks man