Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

FFF has brewed 2 beers within this style recently, 25 million dollar man AND Vielen Dank

 

I've had the 25 million dollar man... thought it was only ok. It had the look but the taste and the end were quite bitter. This was maybe a couple of batches ago for the 25 million dollar man. Never had the Vielen Dank.

 

Half Acre made one somewhat in the style, Now and Then. At this point, we have tons of breweries making and working on NEIPAs, I'm happy to go to Half Acre for the beers they want to make. As always, I'm loving the variety of beers made throughout Chicago.

 

Just had Marz Overhaze IPA (10/3 batch). Not bad at all. Citrus front and a small bit of earthy towards the end. Mildly bitter, descent mouthfeel, good carbonation... Overall, I like it. I don't necessarily like the format of 4X12oz cans or the price, but the beer itself is not bad at all.

 

Don't get me wrong, Half-Acre is still my #1 tap room I frequent when in the city (with Corridor closing the gap recently) and I go to 3Floyds probably once a month, but I just wish for one or two offerings that are on similar level as some of better NE/DDH/hazy IPAs in Chicagoland, like Corridor. I'm selfish and want everything I like in one place so that I can save on time running around Chicagoland to get a bit of everything that I really like.

 

Picked up some Odd Side ales Dirty Dank Juice that was canned on 10 10 17. If you see this one on the shelf or in the cooler just walk on by. Definitely nothing like the Binny's marketing would suggest. Not a very good representation of the style at all.

 

First off...thanks for diggin, the new Vic secret/mandarina/pacifica version is out meow.

Is the 16oz format really preferred? I sorta thought a 12 oz of a mild belgo was preferred over 16. What’s the main reasons for the dislike? A switch ain’t hard but we were trying to keep our whole line-up in 12oz, fair priced 4-packs.

 

How long does Zombie Dust hang around the brewery after release nowadays? It's been a long time since I've gone and I've been meaning to take a mid-week trip there after work.

 

It usually gets released on a Tuesday and I've been able to pick it up a few times on Saturday, no later than 1-2P.M. Definitely available through Friday nowadays.

It's lasting days now since their expansion whereas prior to that it would last maybe a few hours and that's it.

 

Craniac was incredible. Great showcase of Nelson hops. Tropical, white wine, smooth creamy mouth feel. Knocked this one out of the park.

 

I'm personally fine with and may even prefer a 4-pack of 12-oz cans if it's reasonably priced. It's a bit different - but that just means it's more common to see <8% beers be 16-oz 4 packs or 12-oz 6 packs.

 

Is there any difference between the two Dun Dun Dun cans? The ones I picked up were white, with black letters - and aren't nearly as hazy as the pictures I've seen of the black cans with white letters.

 

They responded to someone on IG about that, said no difference

 

Anyone try this yet? The lone review here isn't too helpful. I was thinking of going, but was too tired after getting the kids to bed. Might try to grab some if it's still available.

 

I think they said they were down to a couple of cases yesterday, so I have to imagine the cans are gone. It sounded like it would still be going on tap and they also mentioned doing another canning run on Tuesday.

I cannot give it an accurate review because my taste came after a couple of other beers around the campfire in a metal tumbler, but I enjoyed the beer. It had a bit of a citrus nose/taste and I got a little bit of hop bite. I'm certainly going to try to pop on by on Tuesday to pick up a 6 to give it another try.

 

I don't think it is a deal breaker. I prefer 12oz cans, but I prefer 6 of them. When I see a 4 pack of cans I think 16oz. In this case I grabbed the 4 pack of Sell Out I just associated 4 cans with 16ozs so I felt shorted when I got home and figured out I only had 48 ozs of beer. Until you guys get more traction I think you have to win on pricing, so sub $10 for 4 12oz cans means you are doing the right thing,....it allows people to to try your stuff without a significant investment....when you blow up, throw 2 more cans in or go to 16oz 4 packs!

 

I picked some up last Wednesday around 3pm with no line at all. I swear they’ve done something to that beer though bc it doesn’t taste anything like it used to

 

I completely agree with that. Rumor is the hops have changed and there is no Citra in it whatsoever. But whatever the change is, it tastes much sweeter and malty than it ever has. That's not my palate changing either. Like many others I've had this beer probably on the order of hundred of times over the last 4-5 years... It's different.

 

Not to derail this thread, but I will disagree on ZD. While there have been some batch variations, I don't think it has changed. I've been drinking it since it was Cenotaph, and it usually, still tastes the same to me. I picked up some last week as well and tastes just fine. Now what I will say, is that there are so many readily available beers with a similar profile, that its more nondescript these days. And a one month old ZD is a very different beer (like the flavors you both mentioned above). But fresh, its still as good as even imo.

 

Tried Snoochie and Dun Dun Dun over the weekend. The former was good, the latter was really good.