Great Notion

I enjoyed Best Laid Plans quite a bit, possibly because I hadn't heard anything about it prior. Sounds like I need to stop into Cloudburst on my next trip up.

Anyone noticing subtle differences between the two Ripe batches? More concentrated/flavorful sweetness, maybe?

 

I felt the same way. The first one is "wow" ,and then you just dont feel like having anymore. I dont feel like its a lack of "dryness" at the end, but rather the lack of hop-bite that I feel is missing

 

Dryness I'm referring to is a combination of the beer finishing at a low final gravity and hop bitterness in the finish. For my money, an IPA should finish dry and leave you wanting another sip. Some of these beers that focus on being "juicy" with no bitterness sort of just peter out instead of having a nice definable finish of dryness/bitterness. It can be tough to make it through an entire pint of stuff like that.

 

Wait! Don't you know the Vermont IPA is just far superior to a PNW take on the style (or some Masshole insisted to me a few months ago...)?

 

That's sorta how I felt when I visited Vermont two years ago and went to the Alchemist. I got ordered my glass of Heady Topper and sniffed it with great anticipation. It smelled great of course, so I sipped it, got some great hop flavor and then it just ended. I remember feeling so surprised. It was almost a "that's it?" feeling. If that same beer had finished dry I would have enjoyed it so much more, but it just felt like a vital part of the IPA experience was missing.

I've thought about why the style evolved that way a bit and I think it may have to do with the fact that the hoppy beers of the New England area were traditionally much closer to English style IPA's than the bigger and more bitter American/west coast stuff. I don't think as many people in that region have the fondness for bitterness like many of the older school beer drinkers out this way (I even remember someone on the beer talk forum telling me that he regards bitterness as a flaw in an IPA LOL!) so when their brewers finally began making more American than English style they focused on low bitterness.

I think lower bitterness has another benefit for those that brew them: newer palates won't reject it. I'll never forget how not ready to experience a big IPA I was when I first tried one many years ago. But I can totally see newer palates gravitating to low/no bitterness IPA's and saying 'omg best ipa evar'!

With that said though, I'm still super excited to try Great Notion. I love their story and even if their IPA's don't end up being my bag it sounds like they're making some great stuff in other styles.

 

Does Trillium fall into that camp for you? I've really dug everything I've had from them. In my mind, they're legit, though I wouldn't mind if their stuff was just a tad bit more bitter. Still excellent though.

Night Shift, also in MA, makes some nice hoppy brews too.

 

I don't know why there even needs to be an argument over which is better, they are just different and people have different tastes. I like both although I've had Tree House Green and that was my favorite IPA i've had probably. If there wasn't a want for big juicy IPAs there wouldn't be as much hype behind this Great Notion brewery. I haven't been yet but will be going this weekend.

 

Night Shift's Whirlpool has a good bitter finish, even though it's hazy and "juicy."

Night Shift is also not as revered as their "rarer" brethren.

 

I trade quite a bit, and have honestly found Trillium to be better than Treehouse, hands down.

 

None of us here are saying either is better, unless I missed something.

 

I feel like we're seeing a wave craft beer people still in the "yummy phase," where bitter is bad.

 

I see a lot of discussion in this thread about East Coast vs. West Coast IPAs. I was at Block 15 this past weekend. They had the Alpha IPA (left) and Intergalatic Hop Shop IPA (right) on draft, so I did a side-by-side comparison (picture below). Both styles are delicious in my opinion and differ with their own unique flavor, aroma, texture, etc. That's why I think you can't really compare, for example, Sticky Hands or Pfriem IPA to Julius or SOS. They are all superb IPAs but are cut from a different cloth. Anyway, I'm excited to hear all the hype about Great Notion so I will have to check them out.

 

My wife and I stopped by last Friday night for a quick pint, I had the Merry Dankster and she had Ripe. Both great beers that I look forward to trying again. We grabbed a growler and the carbonation didn't hold up well which took away from the beer. I would love to find some of their beers at a location with crowlers.

 

I have not had any of the so-called New England-style IPAs, but I did have Block 15's Intergalactic Hop Shop, and absolutely loved it. It was my first beer from them, but it struck me as a noticeably juicier (and hazier) version of the Northwest-style IPAs that I typically enjoy, not a completely different interpretation of an IPA per se. For those who have had both, in which 'regional' genre should that beer be classified? I'm genuinely curious.

I think, like others have said on this thread, that some kind of dry finish and 'hop bite' are vital components of an IPA or IIPA. They keep it engaging, and interesting, after the first few sips. At the same time, juicy flavor and a clean, smooth feel are also enormously desirable in a beer. The very best, I suppose, would calibrate this balance between competing factors perfectly.

 

Good thing GNB will have a Crowler soon ;ol. Unfortunately the cans were damaged during shipment.

 

Hop Shop definitely has more characteristics of a NE IPA, sort of like Heady Topper. I haven't had a ton of NE IPAs, so that's what came to mind when I tried Hop Shop this past weekend. Hoppy New Year also was very much in that style. Alpha is a classic West Coast IPA and Sticky Hands is kind of a hybrid but mostly West Coast imo. The DIPA I had at Great Notion, Merry Dankster I think, was way juicier than anything I've tried from Block 15 and seemed to be lower on the carbonation. I liked it and would def go back to try their others. Still not the kind of IPA I prefer. Maybe it will grow on me though.

 

Nothing better than getting it straight from the source!