Do cloudy/hoppy/turbid IPAs scale up?

And how much of this do you believe has to do with the loss of the rarity factor?

Is it purely coincidence that many of these beers seem to lose flavor or taste different when they become easier to obtain?

 

I've thought about this myself. TG finally got to Minnesota this year, but they started out with 12oz bottles produced at their FL facility. Not the same stuff. Not as juicy tasting or smelling. Still pretty good, but not nearly as good as the stuff brewed in Decorah.

My hopes were raised when I saw bombers of Pompeii and Light Speed at my local bottle shops, but that stuff wasn't the same either and I suspect was also brewed and bottled in FL.

I'm beginning to think that despite the fact that I can now find TG stuff regularly, the only way to get the real McCoy is to go get it in IA. I wonder if their old accounts with shops in Wisconsin are still getting IA stuff or if they've switched them over for FL stuff too.

 

Well it might not be coincidence but there are other factors at play. For example all breweries getting new brewing equipment or scaling up in size typically have to run a few batches to get the recipe dialed in on the new equipment.

Similarly there is a "disappointment" factor at play when someone finally gets their hands on a widely touted beer and they have blown up their expectations to an unmeetable standard.

There is also a transportation/age situation as well. The vibration of transportation can create changes in the chemical reactions in the beer that don't take place "within sight of the brewer," and several beers can taste different than they do at the course after being transported a few thousand miles.

 

We'll find out when Rebel Raw is released.

 

I absolutely agree it's a combination of very real effects.

But I also think there's a mental factor in there, as well as a herd mentality.

Not in every case of course. Just saying those are very real factors as well.

 

I would add age/freshness to this.

Especially with the way these beers are brewed, I imagine the fact they're all being consumed very close to canning/bottling dates without transportation, or immediately from growlers, is having a significant impact.

 

Pompeii and Light Speed are made in Decorah though...

 

TG had some cryptic tweet just the other night about losing the "juiciness" of an IPA as you grew. Interesting timing:

https://twitter.com/TGBrews/status/656659053985320960

 

I know Trillium has mentioned that their beers will "clear up" with a couple weeks of age - maybe it's just a matter of transportation time? Chances are by the time they've hit the store it's been 3 - 4 weeks since they were bottled. That plays a big role in the extremely "Fragile" New England IPA style.

 

I would couple refrigeration with age. It's been well documented that temperature in addition to age can be quite detrimental to the flavor profile of a hop forward beer.

The majority of these "New England" IPAs are being purchased at the breweries and then going directly into people's mouths, or their fridge. Once you distribute a beer across the country, who knows how long it's spending outside of a fridge.

 

Have you had Alpine vs *Alpine?

You wouldn't be asking this, if this were the case.

 

Bombers are all brewed in Decorah. 12ozers are all brewed in Florida.

 

I just get my shelf IPA's really cold and then boom! Thanks to chill haze, I'm drinking the hyped shit!

 

How do you know for sure? Just curious?

 

It says on the bottles

 

terroir........bottom line