Are all Hazy IPAs mostly the same?

The one on your right as you enter? Next to the big window?
I've never seen it happen, but then I generally get the shelf along the wall by the bar, or one of the barrel rack tables. I'll mention it next time I'm in.

 

We're aware of the issue Terry, it's being dealt with.

 

In many cases it is the same base beer with different hops (Trillum street series being a prime example). But it still seems you're missing a lot. While the malt takes a backseat, some use white wheat, rye, spelt, oats - there's a huge variety of adjuncts used in the style. The key character here is NO DAMN CARAMEL - and thank goodness for that. Yeast is of crucial importance and where I feel like most of the misses come from (3M, sorry but looking at you). Some of the most successful use a mix of yeasts. And in what other style do you get such big expressions of the latest and greatest hop varieties? I generally find single hop beers boring after a couple sips. I always try them to get a better feel for the particular characteristics of that variety, but a blend of hops is nearly always better overall.

Different strokes I guess. My biggest issue is that still no one in the PNW produces a superb one consistently available ala Treehouse Julius or Trill Fort Point (maybe Great Notion, but not consistently available in my market). It's always a different name and if you chase every new release you will definitely find a few disappointments.

 

Hey there. Thanks for the reply.

Neither of the things I groused about would keep me from visiting your brewpub again the next time I'm in Bellingham. I've enjoyed a couple of your other beers and look forward to trying them again at the source.

EDIT: And hey, if I have to drink more of your beer to help offset the cost of repairing the warped tabletop, well I'm okay with that.

 

I haven't found hazy IPAs to all taste the same any more than I do other IPAs. Varietal-specific flavors seem every bit as pronounced as in other hop-forward beers.

I have some lingering novelty about a PA/IPA/IIPA being intentionally hazy and what that's supposed to signal to me, but for the most part it's become just another beer (style). Hazy or non-hazy, I'll make up my mind about a beer based on multiple factors, and I have just enough patience that the first appearance doesn't sway my opinion much before I smell and taste it and then evaluate the beer as a whole. Including myself, nobody's anxiously awaiting my "hot take" based on appearance alone.

 

On my way back from Morocco this Summer I had an overnight layover in Amsterdam, so I drug my wife and daughter out to Haarlem for a night of dinner and beers at Uiltje Bar where I had a series of Cloudwater DIPAs that only varied in the yeasts used.

Special Edition Drink Fresh DIPA - London Ale Yeast
Special Edition Drink Fresh DIPA - JW Lees Ale Yeast
Special Edition Drink Fresh DIPA - Burton Ale Yeast

All the beers used Simcoe, Mosaic and Willamette hops but looked and tasted incredibly different from each other. I'd never seen a brewery do something like this before but it was really fascinating.

 

We really do appreciate the support! Thank you for stopping by.

 

this is what i love about Europe beer right now. countries and regions are taking the hop craze and incorporating it into their local styles and brewing history.

 

I had a can of Gamma Ray at the only craft beer-focused bar in Grenada, Spain a couple years ago. Awesome beer and kick ass artwork. Still surprised the beer didn't have Galaxy hops in it with that name, though.

 

probably did at one point, but now i think it's their flagship.

speaking of galaxy and UK breweries... the kernel does an excellent, hazy galaxy IPA. bottle conditioned too, because real ale matters!

 

How ironic @beertunes I stopped by and grabbed two 4-packs of FUZZ earlier this month (November). I also had some Reubens "hazy" concoctions in fridge as well along with a couple other hazy style beers. You may be on to something. I find myself seeking out more Saisons/Wits/Sours, etc lately.

Not gonna lie, Structures and Reubens have been my personal favorites lately in Washington State. Skookum and Urban Family jump into the mix on occasion too.

Could we possibly be getting burnt out on the style?

 

For clarification purposes; I'm long on record as a non-fan of the style, but it never hurts to try new things. I wasn't picking on @Structures, it was a sincere question about where you think they fall on the scale of the breweries that brew those brews. The ones I've liked best have been the ones from Skookum, but they tend to have more a "traditional" IPA bite.

 

See the post I was typing as you posted. In general, they're not my jam, and that's fine, not everything is gonna be for everyone.

 

Way back when, Mikkeller did a Yeast series - same wort, different yeast. One of my favorite bars, Maxs on Broadway in Baltimore had all 6 or so versions on tap so i got to try them side by side. Unfortunately, all beers were pretty terrible. @John_M was probably involved in those shenanigans, though my memory is a little "hazy."

 

I'm good with like 1x4pack a month of the hazy stuff, and 1x4pack of regular IPAs too. So many other great styles out there to explore.

 

When I had a flight of Other Half's IPAs at Roscoe's a while back I felt like they were all quite different. I also thought they were much tastier than anything I'd had from Great Notion et al. (and I'm not a GN hater). This is the only time I've had a bunch of hazy IPA's side by side, but I imagine I might think they all taste similar if I had them at different times. I don't often get the local ones, as I can practically get a six pack of equally tasty beer for the price of 2.

 

it's a forum rule, so put a haiku on one and see the world shatter.

 

I don't know if this is kosher, but I'm directing your attention to a post from another forum, and quoting it in full below. I ran across this in the Midwest Forum, which I browse occasionally as I visit Minnesota fairly often.

This post is a very intelligent dissection of the "NE IPA" style, as well as a connection between pure NE IPAs and one of my favorite Midwest beers, PseudoSue. It's worth the long read. The full thread is at https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...ipas-available-in-the-mn.546863/#post-5747404. Hop on over there, and give the writer a Like.

 

Why's that a rule? Are they scared of a meme outbreak?

 

i think it's an attempt to keep things original around here. so to answer your second question, yes.