Other Half in Illinois 2019

The one that’s an IPA

 

Treehouse is at that price point if not lower. And Alchemist (while not a new school IPA) is considerably lower in cost

 

I think Mylar Bags is fantastic

 

Triple Cream is right up there too. Really enjoyed that one.

Binnys STC still has multiple cases of what looks like everything. I imagine they are going to have some OH available the next week or two.

 

But aren’t those beers still hard to get on the east coast and in two different states?

 

Open Bottle is offering crowlers of what is left from their tap takeover, if such a thing interests you. Don’t @ me on the price...I’m well aware.

 

I'm unimpressed with Emerald Glow and Mosaic Moteukea...they aren't bad beers they just aren't appreciably better than what we have locally. Hop Butchers best are better than those two. I understand Mylar Bags was probably the OH beer to get based on reviews in this thread and the overall rankings on beer advocate. Emerald Glow had a softer water feel to Hop Butchers stuff. Kind of like the viscosity of water vs syrup. Though interesting and a tad bit crisper, I don't feel it was worthy of seeking out. I guess these are average beers for OH and would be on par with the average stuff from Hop Butcher. Based on these I have no pressure to go to OH next time I'm in NYC. I would opt for Grimm over OH if I'm in Brooklyn...

 

Mosaic and Motueka is surprisingly spectacular in my opinion. You guys are definitely entitled to your opinions. I just push back at the examples of Transient and Alarmist as being mentioned as value equivalents.

 

We have Ninja vs Unicorn cans at 11.99 on shelves all over this city. I’ve never had a alchemist ipa that outclassed NvU, and that’s a test I’ve run a several times since Pipeworks got to canning.
Opinions are opinions. But if the beers are similar in quality, which I think they are... then Chicago wins on that one. i even put a few fresh cans of gone away up against a few fresh focal bangers in a blind battle this spring, the room was nearly unanimous for team gone away.

 

My first reaction after reading this was anger, and then I realized it meant more Focal Banger for me when Alchemist decides to distro to Chicago (look, it's my scenario, so my rules, ok?).

Typically I'm on board for the price discussion, but since these guys might as well be selling out of a cave in Nepal, from an overhead perspective they can probably afford to offer beer on the cheap.

 

I was just in Geneva so I stopped by the St. Charles Binny's. Fyi, they had 4-5 Lil Beaver beers, the new Hop Butcher Triple IPA and they had every Other Half beer still available. Pretty amazing selection...

 

Loved "Geneva"

I have really really enjoyed the OH I've tried so far. I don't know if I'd routinely buy them at this price point but it was a hell of a lot better than trading. I also agree these beers are on a different level than a majority of what we get here.

 

This is the perfect way of describing my feelings as well. OH is my favorite IPA producer in the country, so to be able to grab some locally without trading and shipping...that's a win in my book. I'm not gonna drop a ton of money all the time if it were offered more frequently, but I think some of these cans will be perfect for me to stuff in my luggage to Maui in a couple weeks.

 

Monkeypod had the best beer selection when I was there. Food was pretty good too.

 

Did you pick any up here and if you tried any what order did you rank them?

 

Here's my view: i bought 7 4-packs to split for a total cost of $170 ... that means i paid $85 for 14 beers, so $6/beer on average

So far i've had 4 of them: Always/Forever was topnotch while Diamond Reflection and Emerald Glow were forgettable (drinkable but not worth the markup, many other beers locally are as good or better for less money)

The other one i had was Triple Nelson ... did a blind comparison against the Hop Butcher Triple that came out recently ... Triple Nelson won, but neither were worth the price. I generally find Triple NEIPAs to be hard to drink as i end up tasting too much burn and too much sweetness at the same time.

I saved Triple Cream, Mylar Bags and Mosaic/Motueka for last based on the positive feedback i'm hearing so far.

 

I was out of town but had some other gracious forumites grabbing some for me. I haven't picked them all up yet to try them out, though, so I'm not much help at this point.

 

I've tried 3 of the 4 different beers that I got from this Other Half drop.

Diamond Reflection is my favorite so far, very aromatic, fruity sweet and smooth. Triple Nelson Daydream had a great aroma, but it's entirely too sweet for my liking (and pretty much the same reason I don't like Hop Butchers beers) even though Nelson hops is one of my favorites. DDH Always and Forever had a good juicy flavor with a drier finish than the other two. DDH Mylar Bags is the last one yet to be had.

I like Other Half in general (DDH Broccoli is my favorite of theirs), but most of their beers run too sweet for my liking. I was glad to be able to pick some up conveniently, but I'll likely be passing next time around (if there is a next time).

 

I think regional beer is better left to be enjoyed in their home regions. Enjoying a local beer you can't get in your market in its home market makes it taste better. I remember having a Green City draft in a bar in NYC, I won't remember having a Mosaic Motueka from a can at my home.... These things do kind of lose some of their exotic appeal when they become accessible.

 

I think it's not just that, it's that you're also viewing the beers with a more critical eye than you would if you were just having them in their natural habitat. If I'm buying a non-local beer it damn well better be as good (if not better) than my local options, or why am I supporting the enemy? And if it's also pricey, then...