"Vermont-Style" IPAs?

I've had Heady, Society and Solitude something or other DIPA, Double Sunshine, Tribute, etc. bitterness is way different from what we have out here. A lot brighter in color, sometimes murky but not always.

With that said, I don't think it's really a unique style. Plenty of beers out here are similar in approach and presentation. Cowiche Canyon Fresh Hop, Pallet Jack, Crikey, Topcutter, Hop A Wheelie, Breakside IPA are doing the same thing.

 

Agreed. I would add Fort George IPAs (including the 3-Way collabs) to this mix.

 

I remember having a Crux IPA right after Double Sunshine and not seeing much of a difference between them. Light malt bill, loads of Passionfruit. No one got as excited over the Crux bottle, though.

 

I would say it's more closer to Oregon style than Washington. Washington IPA's tend to be more bitter.

 

it's mostly a color/mouthfeel thing, likely due to the yeast used. london ale III and conan yeast strains create a hazy color and since Vermont kind of started the fad of using these yeasts, I have no problem characterizing an IPA as "vermont-style".

i'd say the closest thing is breakside IPA, vortex, and top cutter.

 

I was going to list Top Cutter and Vortex as well. I've had Heady many times and Double Sunshine a few. I think Vortex is very similar to Heady, IMO. The main difference is I can get it all the time and it's not in a silver can that says Heady Topper.

 

I've always found good, brewed as it should Blue Dot to be similar to Heady.

 

Lots of fun info in this thread for ya...

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/northeast-pales-ipa-dipa.319817/

 

you're not kidding, lot of good info there.

dry-hopping under pressure is an interesting idea. IMO, there's nothing like Trillium's double dry-hopped IPAs in the PNW. the amount of hop flavor and aroma trillium packs into their IPAs is absurd. that said, these east coast BA's are still getting acclimated to having accessible fresh, hoppy beer, and i can't help but think some of their speculation about the techniques and intricacies of individual breweries is absurd. people are talking water chemistry and floculation and biotransformation like they've got a phd in a hard science.

 

we need more unfiltered ipas out here, that is all.

 

I'm not sure I agree. IMO, Vortex was greatly improved after Fort George installed a centrifuge. It just tastes brighter now.

 

I'm in the same camp. There's a very particular vegetal note that I get from a lot of NE IPAs (Trillium in particular) which comes across most strongly to me as overripe melon, although my wife describes it as silage. I can't say for sure that it comes from whatever makes these beers hazy, but it's an aroma that is very rare for me to find in a bright IPA.

 

My personal thoughts are that our NW IPA's are quite different than the NE IPA's. I definitely get more crystal malt out of most of our IPA's but also a firmer hop bitterness in the finish. Some of the NE stuff I've had really lacked in bitterness to the degree that I found them just "good" or even "good for the NE". Trillium, I loved though and with a tad more bitterness I think their stuff would be pretty damn perfect.

 

I honestly find zero simarities between the best NW IPA's and the best NE IPA's. And that's fine.

No one in the Northwest is making a beer like Focal Banger or Trillium's better offerings. No one in New England is making anything like Pallet Jack. I don't find Vortex to be remotely close to any of the better NE IPA's...sorry. The unfiltered, hazy, 'juiciness' of NE IPA's pairs perfectly with the flavor profile. Plenty of times I am itching for those types of IPA's. But plenty of times I want the ultra-clean, Northwest hop assault that you can't find anywhere else like Pallet Jack, pFriem IPA, etc.

All examples are sublime beers...no need to 'reach' for parralels....separate styles of IPA's that should be appreciated by all hop-heads.

 

This exactly. Voretx is awesome but aside from some haziness, it is nothing like any of the Vermont style IPA's I have had. Completely different hop profiles and mouthfeel.

 

honestly i think it is hard to box in a region's style...ive had some trillium, heady, HF, Bissel bros, Foundation, Stoneface and others that i think many would say are NE style. while they tend to be a bit juicier and hazier than many other IPAs i think there some pretty well known IPAs in NE that don't fit that style...MBC and Lawsons come to mind.

I have the same problem when i think about NW IPAs...are there more that tend to be cleaner with a crisper bite but there are many that dont...

I guess my point is i dont really buy the whole "____" syle IPA. I guess you could say some styles originated in certain geographic locations but craft beer is far too diverse in even a single market to try to put a box around an area like NE or the PNW...

 

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-england-ipa.286163/

Gag me w/ your beer feces. & I'm a Bostonian!

 

I think the only comparable Oregon IPA when it's 'on'....and that's a big if.....is Blue Dot. When it's up to snuff, it has that NE style juicy-haziness and arguably the best aroma of any IPA in the Northwest. Pineapple, tropical fruit goodness.

Current bottles aren't the best I've had, but far far from the worst.

 

The recent draft sample I had was "meh", but it was at the Crystal Ballroom, and I have no idea how they treat their lines, so I'm not going to write it off until I can get back to the brewery.