Metro DC Brewery Discussion Thread

I think they wasted a batch of Small Town on this nonsense.

 

I agree with your sentiment. Basically that just being hazy is not enough to make a great IPA.

However, Manor Hill is definitely not using wheat flour.

 

I also agree with your sentiment here, especially about haziness being a symptom, or I would say by-product. I haven't had any Hill Farmstead hoppy beers, but to me Tired Hands is a great example because their beers are both hazy and great looking. They are often a very bright, pale yellow, giving them an electric look. They never look like chicken stock. I also think they are the best tasting and feeling hoppy beers I have ever had, so to me they are the top of the pack. I think Aslin is making some pretty tasty beers for sure, but damn they do look ugly.

 

beernuts - are you in (or around) DC? Let me know if you'd like to try some HF hops and I'll call in some favors from my home state. I'd love an excuse to share their glory with a fellow Ba'er down here. Cheers dude.

 

I'm not sure this is true, I am pretty sure Small Town is coming out sometime next week. I talked to them yesterday and they said they had tried something similar before and enjoyed the result so they figured they would give it a shot.

I wouldn't loose hop yet, I was talking to the bartender yesterday and he mentioned they have some other IPA variants they are eager to try.

Overall, don't knock the beer until you try it. It is still juicy yet has a nice rosemary nose and vanilla and rosemary flavor. It isn't the best IPA they have done, but it sure is different, drinkable, and this isn't saying much but better than a large majority of IPAs coming out of this region.

 

I had a pretty fresh Tired Hands Alien Church the other day and it was just as cloudy as any of the Aslin beers and was not as tasty as Aslin's IPAs, but still an overall great beer. All this comes down to is personal preference IMO. HF beers are all great, but IMO their farmhouses are superior to their IPAs and other beers (not saying those are not great though).

Would love to get more feedback on the Manor Hill release, as I have heard mix messages.

 

I was personally a big fan of Hidden Hopyard. If I had a quibble, it's that I think the super hazy IPAs work best with a lower level of bitterness.

I thought the hop flavor and aroma on Hidden Hopyard were great, I just would have preferred a touch less bitterness.

 

Agree to disagree I guess

master of karate:

 

Ten bucks says you're the kind of guy who shaves his nutsack.

 

Yeah, not accusing Manor Hill of using flour to cloud the beer at all--just trying to say that a beer like Double Duckpin would likely get more hyped up in some circles if it were cloudier.

I think you're dead-on about the bitterness in Hidden Hopyard--it just clashes a bit with the juicy character. Still a very strong beer, but the abrasiveness hides some of the fruity hops. I actually think Manor Hill's Grissette is their best balance of mouthfeel and hops. It's not Dorothy, but it's damn good.

 

Yup. Agreed. Talking to their brewer last night, he plans to slowly scale back the bitterness in each iteration of Hidden Hopyard. His theory, which I tend to agree with, is that a large number of people tend to associate bitterness with IPA. So that was his starting point and he's going to slowly scale back from it.

I love the Grisette. Really nice mix of hop and yeast character in that beer.

 

Damn, how did I know that if anyone on here was sitting around thinking about other dudes nut-sacks it would be you RKP?

In related beer news, I'm glad Aslin is trying new things.

 

the northeast is killing the IPA game now with two separate styles. the Vermont/HF style IPA that generally has a soft mouthfeel, usually citrus-y hops, and is clear and fresh and the "juice bomb" style IPA that is characterized by trillium and tree house. aslin is clearly trying to do the second one and that's great. it doesn't mean HF sucks or anything. HF, trillium, and tree house are running circles around most of the rest of the country, and that's not even counting other great NE IPA brewers like alchemist, Lawson's, other half.

hidden hopyard last night was good but not amazing.

 

When did they move Brooklyn to New England?

 

When did talk of stranger's scrotums fit in with the local beer thread?

 

What can I say, the dude calls himself "beernuts".

 

Come on, you know a dude who fusses over cloudy beer is going to fuss over his scrotal hair. You just know it.