NE IPAs in Michigan?

I'm looking forward to Arvon finally getting their taproom up and going. Based on updates, it seems like that shouldn't be too long. Also, I'll be interested to see what the new space means in terms of distribution - hopefully it means their beers will be a bit easier to grab in cans.

 

I talked to the buyer for a local small store around me that gets Transient stuff and more self distributed stuff like Wax Wings (on the east side of the state). He told me that he was told by them that there will be an noticeable uptick in production and they should be able to supply him with goods once they ramp up.

Also, if anybody has a chance to drink or go to Wax Wings Brewery in Kzoo then I hiiiiigggghly suggest it. Was able to try them on draft at the brewery and then surprisingly scoop up cans from their last release at the local place I mentioned above. The two NEIPA's I had from them were so incredibly good. I would put them up there with Arvon quality and not too far off from the HOMES level. The I'm A King Bee was my favorite of the two...the hop flavor and the honey they used was a perfect blend.

 

That's some high praise in my book, consider I view Arvon and HOMES two of the top producers of the style that I've had from the state. I'll have to stop in some time when I'm rolling through the area.

 

Take the best of Michigan and trade anything you can for Hill Farmstead.

 

This is how I described it to my buddy...it is like if HOMES had a little brother who was just more raw than it would be Wax Wings. That is strictly on the beer side as their tap rooms are vastly different (not a criticism). They also had some great sours on draft and I had stout of theirs from can which was fantastic. For how "new" they are I am really impressed with what I have had from them.

 

I missed this latest round from Wax Wings but scored a bunch of Double NNazareth a few weeks ago, and these guys seriously know what they're doing. Reminds me of Treehouse honestly, they've got a thick but pillowy mouthfeel, really good balance of tropical fruit and earthy dank hops. I think they're clearly on par with Arvon and Austin Brothers, and honestly are hot on HOMES' tail. Visited Wax Wings a couple weeks ago and was blown away by the guava berliner and imperial porter I had there too, these guys are the next big thing.

Speaking of HOMES, drank a Peaked last night and thought it was one of their absolute best DIPAs - this with mosaic and two experimental NZ hops I believe. Tropical fruit smoothie, honey, earthy piney hop bitterness, it was so good.

 

Also, you talking about the Produce Station? Someone needs to get through to them that having year old Transient cans sitting on the shelf for full price is madness! Crazy Transient selection but I wouldn't touch most of those hoppy offerings, I know they've been there forever.

 

I didn't get into the flavor reasons why I like them but you hit it perfectly on the Treehouse likeness. They don't fail into the trap that I think a ton of the middle tier NEIPA's makers in this state and that they hit mouthfeel and body but their flavor profile is just one note. That is what makes HOMES, Arvon, and now Wax Wings stand out above the rest. They give you multiple notes and bring some of those dank/earthy flavors that others just plain miss.

 

I can not confirm nor deny it is them (it is). You are most definitely correct on them having some quite older offerings. The best way to deal with that might be to follow them on Untappd as they post the date when exactly things come in. Doesn't get you the can date for Transient stuff but at least you have an idea when it came into the store and I would guess that Transient isn't sitting on stuff until Produce needs it.

PS....was also told they will have fresh Juice is Loose at some point in the near future.

 

If you're listening out there PS, throw some of those bad boys on sale!

If you're listening out there Transient, put a date on yer dang cans!

 

Question Murk was very well done.

 

Question Murk is great. Holiday Murket was phenomenal if anybody was lucky enough to snag some of that from Holiday Market. I also loved Murk Honcho. Big fan of all the Murks.

My order for MI haze (strictly talking NEIPA, not really into the milkshake/smoothie IPAs that are fruited) would be:

1.HOMES
2a. Arvon
2b. Austin Brothers
3. Transient%
4. Old Nation^
Honorable Mention: Wax Wings*

% Extra points for variety.
^ M43 and Boss Tweed are great and it's nice to see them so widely distributed, but generally not releasing enough new beer to keep things interesting. I'll almost always take a chance on a new hazy IPA at a store, though M43 is a great default at many bars with otherwise weak selections.
*Haven't been around long enough or produced enough beer, but what I've seen is probably right below HOMES and on par with Arvon and Austin Brothers.

 

I really enjoyed Full Earth by ON and Greenstone was rather good (1st time around, 2nd was good but not favored). Also Cart Horse I really liked.
But as you can see nothing since those releases.
Really hope they start brewing something up.

 

That is a really well done list. Think mine would be this:

1. HOMES
2. Arvon
3a. Wax Wings (need to have more from them, only have had a few of their offerings)
3b. Austin Bro's (You can not beat their value but some of their offerings end up too much of a one note flavor to me)
3c. Eastern Market (Really excited to see them start self distro with the limit law being changed, past two stops at their tap room have completely flipped my opinion of them, also think they got a new head brewer between my first visit and second/third)
4. Transient (While the consistency between batches of the same beer have been fixed, their consistency between their NEIPA's is all over the board. Some kill, some in the middle, and a few duds)
5. Old Nation (Tried a few of their single hop project they did recently and while it was a good experiment the quality difference between some of those and M43/Tweed was quite clear)

 

Am I alone in what may be an unpopular opinion that quality of both Transient and even newcomer Arvon can be inconsistent? I have bought fresh cans from both in multiple occasions in which the product simply didn't live up to previous batches.

 

I've ran into this with Transient for sure with Juice Is Loose being a giant prime example of that. I think within the last year that they have been more consistent.

I can't say that about Arvon though...wonder if that is due to the relative rarity of their cans being available to get on the east side of the state. I've only been able to get three of their drops on this side of the state and I do not believe that any of those beers were the same.

 

You are not. I've been an Arvon member for quite some time and there have definitely been some batches that have paled to others. But quality has largely been very good. Here's hoping the brewpub and equipment upgrades will allow them to be more consistent. I know that their move has complicated a lot of things for them, but it sounds like it should be open in the next month or two.

As for rating hazy ipa places in the state, I'd still say the list is
1. Homes
2a. Arvon
2b. Austin Bros.
3a. Wax Wings
3b. Transient
4. Old Nation

 

I'm intrigued by Old Nation being rated in the 4-5 spots by folks. Do you think the other places produce better beers than M-43/Boss Tweed, or is it just that you like to see new hazy beers popping up? I think some of you touched on it already, but just curious to delve into it more.

It's kind of an interesting take on the current beer nerd culture in that so many people want the new and different stuff as opposed to the beer that is always there that is most likely better than the new and different beers (I'm not getting on a high horse here, as I'm just as guilty of it as others).

I will say that I've only had a couple of IPA's from Austin, which were the smoothie kind, and they didn't wow me. Good beers, but I think I'd put Transient and Old Nation above them for sure. Sounds like I need to give some of their other stuff a try still...I'll be up at Crystal Mountain in a couple weeks, so hopefully I can find some of it.

 

Yep. Every batch that I've had from Arvon has been above and beyond m-43 and Boss.

 

Old Nation set the bar and others have passed it while they seem to have been more content with growing production of M43/Tweed rather than try to put out new options. They seem to at least recently been trying to change this and put out a tap room only release series of single hop NEIPA's. Some of these were solid, some of these were just kind of okay but I don't think one of them got to the M43 level.

So lets take HOMES for example, they put out NEIPA's that far exceed M43/Tweed, some come in it at that level (M43), and I have had some that don't meet that level from them. Far most of what HOMES puts out is at those top two levels. So they are putting out new beers that are better than mainstays. Though I still absolutely to this day think HOMES' Same Same Different (a mainstay for HOMES) is consistently one of their top beers on their board.