So, Sunday a bunch of us got together to open bottles while our buddy homebrewed. Full disclosure, I was several beers deep before I got there (and a bit sleep deprived), so was on one of my full-fire, auto-load rant modes. They rest of the group was talking about Melvin's approaching arrival in Bham, and I replied with my "one trick pony" remark about them; yeah they make good hoppy beers, that's all though. It was pointed out to me, none too gently BTW, that one of my top 5 breweries in the state, Bale Breaker, might be equally as guilty. I couldn't really come up with a solid reply to that. Yes both breweries do make a small handful of other things, but I don't think anyone can argue that both are heavily on the lupulin side of the scale. Where do y'all land here? Are the breweries similar? Significantly different? I remain fully in love with Bale Breaker, and, generally, indifferent to Melvin (dat * tho bro, dat shit legit! fo shizzle). Thoughts, comments, flames, calls for entry into rehab welcome.
I tend to agree with your assessment regarding both breweries having a fondness for hop forward beers. However, in my experience, BB seems to really shine when it comes to low abv. hoppy beers, whereas I think Melvin's DIPA's are the best things they make. My favorite BB beers have been the field 41 and the raging ditch hoppy blonde ale they make, though I also was impressed with the TIPA I tried at Cowiche Canyon pub. Topcutter was OK, but I wasn't at all that impressed with their bottomcutter. The piled high fresh hop DIPA was a complete fail for me this past year. In the case of Melvin, the only IPA/DIPA that has been a complete fail for me is the asterisk. Otherwise, I've liked most of the IPA's and DIPA's I've tried from them. I would add that I have tried one of the stouts from both breweries, and my recollection is that neither was particularly memorable.
I love Bale Breaker's hoppy stuff, but their Dormancy Breakfast Stout is also really fantastic this year. I'd like to find more of it (if anyone knows where it is currently on tap in Seattle, let me know). I don't think I've ever tried anything outside the various pale ales from Melvin, but if they want to stick to what they do best, at least for distribution, I'm certainly okay with that.
I must be an oddball for not really enjoying Field 41. Melvin's pales have been a lot more inline with my preferences; fuller yet still sessionable, flavorful and hop forward without crushing amounts of hops. BB's Bottomcutter is far and away my favorite from them I've had; my fridge is regularly stocked with those sixers. As mentioned, Melvin's DIPAs are killer. I really appreciate their experimentation and ability to pump them out as frequently as they do with the distribution footprint they have. Wish Bale Breaker would experiment more frequently.
Unless I’m mistaken, BB has only canned a pale, IPA and a IIPA, while Melvin has only canned a blonde, pale, IPA and 2 IIPAs. They are certainly very similar in that sense, and in what it suggests about their respective wheelhouses. The relatively modest draft offerings they’ve each put out are more often than not variations on this theme, but also where they’ve delved into other styles inasmuch as they have. Having sampled only a few of these from both, I cannot confidently speak to how skilled these ponies are when it comes to their 2nd, 3rd, etc…tricks, but it’s clear, just going by the BA listings, that Melvin has experimented significantly more—both within their main lupulin-centered area of focus and beyond it. To echo drone, I’d like to see BB mix things up more, but perhaps they’ve had good reasons for keeping their main focus on their core beers up until now, and that this will eventually change. Both breweries recently completed (or are near completing?) significant expansions, which bodes well in a number of ways... Personally, I generally prefer Melvin’s hoppy stuff across the board, my fondness for BB notwithstanding. But, that’s purely subjective, of course—a matter, only, of my particular palate and not a statement about absolute quality. The objective claim is that they are both great, and that we're lucky to have an ever-ready supply of their beers gracing our shelves and taps. If you only had it once, about a year ago, on draft, as I did, it is worth revisiting when you see it again. I didn't care for it then either, but the recent cans, as I mentioned on another thread, have been phenomenal.* (*But it's also a Mosaic beer, and some people just seem to be allergic to Mosaic.) Until I'm sure they're truly welcome, no comment.
i've had some imperial stouts from melvin that do the job. bale breaker... it's always been hoppy offerings. i once ordered a BB high camp winter warmer excited to try a different style. it was just another awesome BB IPA. i like how they focus on just the lupulin magic. making an IPA and calling it a winter warmer is fake news.
i just find it funny. the winter warmer style category has some weird company. not a ton of hop-forward offerings, though.
In all fairness, they call it an IPA, too (though the tap handle may be misleading): https://www.balebreaker.com/beer/detail.html?varietyid=4#
