Alpine Nelson 2020

If you ever get through paso robles the og GF brewer runs Silva brewing there and on my one visit they had some tasty stuff going on. Didn't have any IPA on that visit so I don't know if he brews a stand in but there's definitely great, simple, classic west coast styles on offer

 

I am not a commercial brewer, but remember a lot of talk about green flash just not being able to dial in Alpine beers on their bigger system. One of the theories back in the day was that Green Flash filtered everything, where Alpine did not.

 

That is sorta what I was getting at as regards a difference of the brewhouse/brewery. Each brewery has its own unique configuration/setup which will influence how the beer is brewed.

When Jim Koch started Boston Beer Co. (Sam Adams) he did not have a brewery so he depended on contract breweries. The first contract brewery to produce Sam Adams Boston Lager was Pittsburgh Brewing Co. (Iron City) in Pittsburgh and Jim Koch had a demand that Boston Lager be brewed using equipment that was not presently existing in the brewery so he paid to have this equipment installed in the brewery vs. just brewing with the existing setup.

Cheers!

 

I don't really know specifics but they were having biterness and haze issues and I think it was due to water and probably the brewhouse design. Hop efficiency can vary a lot in different brewhouses and something that simple can change a beer a lot. Then add different water (GF has always had a hard water profile that makes their bitterness stand out more) and you are already in a tough spot. Then I am sure they had issues sourcing more Nelson, just like we all did at that time. What are you going to blend with it without changing it too much? It's hard enough to keep a beer consistent over time in the same brewery. Changing breweries can be a nightmare, even with the same brewer (which they still had at the time, alas, no longer).

 

But breweries can build up any water they want. Either by starting with RO water and adding mineral salts or via other means. Are you of the opinion that Green Flash made no attempts to match the water as used at Alpine Brewing?

That is a trickier problem. You would think that at least from a bitterness perspective this could be adjusted. I am uncertain as regards late hop additions.

That could be an issue as regards Alpine Nelson. But what about Duet (which is a combo of Simcoe and Amarillo)? I had a Duet that was brewed at Alpine and that beer was sublime. In contrast I had a number of Green Flash brewed Duet beers and while those beer were by no means awful they were absolutely nothing like the Alpine brewed Duet. Almost like night and day difference.

Cheers!

 

Drinking a "The Dragon" from Sapwood Cellars right now and it is reminding me what was so great about Alpine Nelson. A very nice Rye DIPA with some Hallertau Blanc, Mosaic, and a lot of Nelson Sauvin. I'd recommend all you Nelson fans try to track down a can. It's fantastic! (Rings of Light and Cheater Hops 12, the other two releases for this weekend, are also great)

 

Has anyone tried that ETNYC beer, “I MISS THE OLD ENIPLA NELSON”? Supposedly it’s a nod/throwback to the old Nelson recipe. Pretty cool, if you ask me.



https://eviltwin.nyc/beer/i-miss-the-old-enipla-nelson/

 

I won't say who, exactly, has been drinking the shit out of that tribute beer on the WBAYDN thread. Let's just say that said BA likes things muy Grande and not just extra-medium.

 

I don't have any personal knowledge of what they did other than having been to both breweries and knowing a bit about their processes. GF didn't have RO when I visited the then-new production brewery. Maybe changing that at some point is what helped them get it closer? Otherwise I have no idea. Matching flavor in another brewery is just really hard as there are so many possible variables and yo never know how far someone is willing to go or what their constraints are.

 

I agree 100% with this with emphasis on the aspect of "how far is someone willing to go".

It seems to be popular on BA to belittle the beers of Anheuser-Busch (e.g., Bud Light, Bud) but that brewery has the best concept & implementation of QA/QC in the industry IMO. They have a dozen breweries in the US and they take all necessary steps to produce the exact same beer at all of those breweries. From replicating the exact same brewing water and thereon.

Cheers!

 

Nelson is still good in my book. I buy a six pack at least once a month

 

I agree, I think they’re the best in MD. Everything’s consistently good-great. Mike & Scott have really put the time in and know what they’re doing. They’ve been canning once a month lately. Borrowing another brewery’s canning line. They brewed a double batch of “The Dragon” so still plenty of cans available of that. Picked up three more 4-packs today. Drinking one now, still tasting great! They’re doing crowlers of most of the other stuff as well.

 

I sent my wife out to get me a couple bombers as soon as a liquor store near me posted it on Instagram. Drinking the first one now, and I have to agree that it is reminiscent of Alpine’s hoppy beers. Good call on this one! I only wish I could have drank it as fresh as you.

Although I haven’t tried “OG” Nelson, as previously stated, I have had some other hoppy beers at the brewpub (a double IPA, but more relevant, a session IPA and an IPA called “Not Nelson”) which I was told were brewed in Alpine. I also had Nelson at the brewpub once, but I hear that is being brewed by GF no matter where you get it. This seems correct, as I recall noticing a visual difference between Nelson and Not Nelson despite supposedly being the same beer with different hops. I think I have a side-by-side somewhere.

Long story short, this beer reminds me of those beers.