Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by SeanBond, Aug 29, 2016.

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  1. croush

    croush Pooh-Bah (2,407) Mar 20, 2015 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Blind tasting tonight with Ram Juicy, Mikerphone Special Sauce #8, Hop Butcher Galaxy Bowl and Hubbard's Cave Fresh v4. One was so much hazier than the others that it made the others seem like "basic" IPA's, although one of the others was more a step up in haziness than the others. The hazy one was a pure juice bomb, something that most of the juiceheads (did I just coin that term? :wink:) would love. The other that was a step up compared to others has a more creamy mouthfeel with a good juicy flavor. The other two were a bit tougher to discern. One was slightly tastier than the other - neither seemed hazy NE style at all, but it may be due to what they were up against.

    The haziest of them was Juicy. I can see why people of that hazy style like it. I personally don't care for it, and don't think it really tastes (enough) like beer. The other hazy style was Galaxy Bowl and was the one I preferred - just a great balance of the juicy and traditional flavors that I like.

    The other two felt like they honestly didn't belong. Not in the sense that they aren't good beers, but just that they weren't similar style. They were Mikerphone Special Sauce #8 and Hubbard's Cave Fresh v4. I preferred the Mikerphone.

    Overall, I think I like the all but Juicy...but that just isn't my style. If you're looking for a Treehouse style, I think that's the most similar. But, Galaxy Bowl still is my favorite. Special Sauce and Fresh are both really nice beers, but when put up against the real hazy beers, they don't seem to be in the same category.
     
    #881 croush, Oct 30, 2016
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  2. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Spent some time over the last week glugging Alchemist beers (Heady, Crusher, Focal). While they definitely don't align with what has become the "standard" NE style (I knew they didn't, but figured I'd confirm again); they're very similar in a lot of ways to the "unfiltered" beers I've run into around here (the hazier beers that don't have that same soft mouthfeel and super fruit juicy taste). I can't decide which I like best, but of the 3, I think the Crusher (pictured below) is the haziest and fullest (highest abv, too).

    [​IMG]
    While none of these beers blow me away due to the options we've got in Chicago, I'll give Kimmich full credit for doing one of the definitive takes on this style. The malt/yeast combo gives the 3 beers a really full flavor (they taste similar, in my opinion, to beers like Fantasy Factory from Karben4, but the flavors pop more in the former), and Heady in particularly is pretty well-balanced. To me, the thing breweries should be trying to replicate isn't necessarily the taste of any of the Alchemist beers, or even the process of making them; they should be trying to perfect whatever their best IPA/DIPA is (like Half Acre seems to be doing with Navaja). The Alchemist stuff isn't fantastic because it's incredibly unique (Focal Banger is just citra and mosaic hops), it's fantastic because Kimmich has been working on perfecting the same few beers for years, instead of cranking out a new beer every 2 weeks.
     
    #882 SeanBond, Nov 2, 2016
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  3. Chuckdiesel24

    Chuckdiesel24 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,208) Jul 6, 2016 Illinois
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Was waiting to hear back when you'd said you'd be out there.

    Given how long Alchemist beers have been around, he pretty much started what's known as the NE style. The Tree House, Trillium stuff is other brewers' take on "haze" but are totally different beers.

    This is a great point, especially for more established brewers. Newer, smaller guys may still be figuring out what their best is. Alchemist at one point was a brewpub with heady and focal, but also a lot of other beers he'd tried out while getting his start. The fact that Kimmich focused a large part of his efforts on the ones he did best is definitely to his credit.
     
    #883 Chuckdiesel24, Nov 2, 2016
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  4. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yeah, for sure. I'm actually glad the other guys are doing something different, not because it's better (or worse), but specifically because it is different. There are some beers around here that remind me of (a slightly less tasty) Heady Topper, but I'll always go for something new and interesting over a clone/similar take.
    You're right that newer guys won't have that beer dialed in (and I don't expect them to, obviously). I just think that one of the things most of the "big" IPA breweries are doing that the Midwest is kind of slow on, is mastering one hoppy beer, and then running with it. You've got TG doing King Sue, PseudoSue and all the single-hop variants of PS (not saying that's all they do, but they've clearly got what they want to do locked-down), you've got the Alchemist with Heady and the other two, Tree House has Julius and its offspring, etc. I always criticized Half Acre for doing year-round Daisy Cutter, and neglecting to do a year-round DIPA, and I think they're really responded to that challenge well. I'd love to see Pipeworks take one of their fish beers (Square Grouper, Spotted Puffer, etc.).

    Hell, I'd love to see Hop Butcher just keep rolling out Galaxy Bowl, but that doesn't seem to be on the horizon currently. Point is, I'd like more beers that are dialed-in to the point where they become a surefire go-to for me. If the Alchemist were here, they'd be on my "No one released a new beer I need this week, so I'm grabbing Navaja" list. I want more!
     
    #884 SeanBond, Nov 2, 2016
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  5. GuyFawkes

    GuyFawkes Grand Pooh-Bah (5,630) Apr 7, 2011 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Not sure if it's been noted on here, but Galaxy Bowl IS getting brewed again...l don't think they have capacity to have any beer available year round, but at least they noticed this one was something people wanted.
     
    #885 GuyFawkes, Nov 2, 2016
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  6. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yeah, I knew they were going to again, but (at least originally) they made it sound like they had no intention of regularly brewing it. But yeah, it's good they're acknowledging the fantastic insta-hype.
     
    #886 SeanBond, Nov 2, 2016
  7. FBarber

    FBarber Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,325) Mar 5, 2016 Illinois
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    They'd be incredibly stupid to not cash in on the first beer they've brewed that hit widespread hype and sold out almost instantly.
     
    #887 FBarber, Nov 2, 2016
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  8. pkarch09

    pkarch09 Devotee (362) Mar 22, 2010 Illinois

    Will be getting my hands on Alchemist, Trillium, and Lawson's this weekend so I can report with comparisons as well to some of the recent stuff out here similar to @SeanBond
     
    #888 pkarch09, Nov 2, 2016
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  9. Jangoon24

    Jangoon24 Savant (1,210) Jul 25, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    Coming back to post on the difference of a fresh can of Juicy vs. one with 4 weeks on it.

    The can I had last night definitely had more of a hoppy finish compared do a super fresh one. Still extremely juicy, but with a slightly different mouthfeel (not as "pillowy" like their can states) than the first one I had.

    It was still incredible, but I'd have rated it slightly lower if the can with 4 weeks on it was the first and only one I was able to try. I'll be finishing my last one tonight (go Cubs!)
     
    #889 Jangoon24, Nov 2, 2016
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  10. GuyFawkes

    GuyFawkes Grand Pooh-Bah (5,630) Apr 7, 2011 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    More bitter now than before?
     
    #890 GuyFawkes, Nov 2, 2016
  11. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm sitting on a couple cans of Galaxy Bowl specifically to see if they "get better" after a few weeks like Treehouse beers supposedly do, so it'll be interesting to see if these mirror your findings with Juicy, @Jangoon24 .
     
    #891 SeanBond, Nov 2, 2016
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  12. Jangoon24

    Jangoon24 Savant (1,210) Jul 25, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    To me, it had more of a bitter finish than a really fresh can. Definitely still a lot of the juice coming through, but less flavor and more hops on the end of the can I had last night
     
    #892 Jangoon24, Nov 2, 2016
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  13. GuyFawkes

    GuyFawkes Grand Pooh-Bah (5,630) Apr 7, 2011 Illinois
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    I have one Galaxy Bowl left that I'm planning on cracking in the next 2 weeks for the same reason...
     
    #893 GuyFawkes, Nov 2, 2016
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  14. weirdalchy

    weirdalchy Crusader (436) Jan 23, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    I had a Galaxy Bowl this weekend, I thought it fell off pretty hard to be honest. It actually looked different too from the first couple I had when fresh. A lot less murky.
     
    #894 weirdalchy, Nov 2, 2016
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  15. Zoomslowik

    Zoomslowik Savant (1,148) Mar 17, 2016 Illinois
    Trader

    After a couple of weeks, I decided I had to roll my cans of Juicy to redistribute the yeast. At about 3 weeks, I had one that wasn't nearly as juicy and a little more bitter. When I went to rinse out the can, the water was almost as dark as the beer. The next can, I gently rolled it on the counter before opening it. There was much less stuff in the can when I did that. It didn't totally get back to the original juice/bitterness, but it seemed closer.
     
    #895 Zoomslowik, Nov 2, 2016
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  16. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,735) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Hoarder!
     
    #896 HouseofWortship, Nov 2, 2016
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  17. KCUnited

    KCUnited Savant (1,038) Nov 11, 2014 Arizona
    Trader

    It could be that the changes due to aging are more brewer specific than style specific. Does every NEIPA get canned and released at the same point in their process? Probably not. Maybe one brewer let's their batches sit before canning/releasing and are more optimal when released. Just speculating, I don't really know.
     
    #897 KCUnited, Nov 2, 2016
  18. Jaywalsh20

    Jaywalsh20 Pooh-Bah (2,212) Apr 21, 2014 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I took a trip to New England came home with a case of Treehouse, Trillium and Alchemist and I still feel compelled to buy local IPA releases. Does this ever end guys?! :grimacing:
    I really enjoy this thread

    [​IMG]
     
    #898 Jaywalsh20, Nov 2, 2016
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  19. GuyFawkes

    GuyFawkes Grand Pooh-Bah (5,630) Apr 7, 2011 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    That is a sexy refrigerator.
     
    #899 GuyFawkes, Nov 2, 2016
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  20. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    1) Jealous of that Julius (if only for comparison purposes)

    2) I appreciate that you have your alcohol on the bottom, and your hydration on the top. Nice and efficient (and the right amounts of each!).
     
    #900 SeanBond, Nov 3, 2016
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