Taking the Nelson DIPA to 11

I hate Nelson. Blech. Shaun must have gotten a hell of a bargain on a bargeload of Nelson because practically every IPA for the past two weeks has been nelson. It's like a frigging nightmare.

 

Wow, I loved Apline Nelson. But you're actually teasing me, I'm just not ready for another 4 hour drive to HFS right now.

 

Recently purchased a sixer of Alpine Nelson, it doesn't taste very iconic anymore (at least from what I remember). Only about 6 weeks old

 

Hopefully this makes it to a tap near me. Love Nelson hops and love what Mr. Hill does with his hoppy beers, can't wait to try it.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I've had a couple Nelson forward beers and brewed one myself and I just don't get it. Yeah it certainly gives a beer white wine notes, but to me it's white wine that's sat in an open bottle overnight or something.

I suspect it's probably just something with my pallet because it sounds great but the taste just doesn't live up to the description most of the time.

 

It falls off quickly. I bought a sixer down here in SoCal and it deteriorated faster than I was expecting. That said, it was dynamite while bright and fresh.

 

Was most likely brewed by Green Flash. It’s not the same.

Original/legit Nelson is still world class.

 

HF pretty much can do anything hoppy to 11 with pretty much any hops even the classic European varieties. They amaze me every time.

 

This.

Nelson is one of my absolute favorite hops -- the crisp white wine, *chef's kiss* -- and few, if any people are better suited to use it than Hill.

 

I just had 2 cans of the Nelson IPA and it was so tasty. I find a lot of NEIPAs have a similar sweet flavor, but this one is much more unique and delicious. Would love to try the Double.

 

Nelson Sauvin hops are described as producing an aroma/flavor of gooseberries. Has anybody eaten gooseberries (e.g., gooseberry pie)? If so, did you like it?

Cheers!

 

Growing up, my grandparents had gooseberry bushes and we ate them all the time. They tasted like sour grapes to me. I liked them as I kid, but I don't get that same flavor with Nelson Sauvin hops.

 

Man, I’ve got to find a way to get ahold of this beer. OG Alpine Nelson is one of my favorite all time beers (at least in my memory it is ). I love well done Nelson hopped beers and most things I’ve had from HF have been very enjoyable.

 

Thanks for your reply.

I have never tasted gooseberry (I have never even seen one) but based upon my readings the flavor profile will be different between eating raw vs. cooked (e.g., a gooseberry pie):

Raw

“Although ripe gooseberries are hard to come by, both red and green types darken in color as they mature, taking on a boozy, Muscat grape-like flavor. When they are consumed raw and unripe, gooseberries taste like sour grapes. Jul 21, 2011”

Cooked

“Because of their tart character, they're best when cooked down with sugar to make cobblers, crumbles, pies, tarts, and jams. Before cooking with them, be sure to pull or cut off the stems and tails attached on both ends.”

Needless to say I have never tasted cooked gooseberry (e.g., a pie, cobbler, jam,…). Maybe some other BA will chime in with input here.

Cheers!

 

I'd love to see a keg of this show up in the denver area. CSA should take note!

 

Just spent a few days in Burlington and made the trek out to HF. Bought a 6 pack of Double Nelson. Will chime in when I get a chance to try one. At a wedding this weekend in Saratoga, the reason for the trip, and we stock piled a bunch of beers to bring home to some friends in the Asheville area. We went to school in Burlington from 2011-15 and we’re pretty stoked about our haul.

 

Man the Origional beers from Alpine SD are really missed. Nelson was absolutely teffiffic as was Pure Hoppiness. I used to order from a local liquor store who got weekly deliveries direct from Alpine, they were all right at 2 weeks old.

 

Nelson has gone through similar issues that the more popular hops have. The increase in demand led to lots of additional acerage and more farms and often times a serious dip in quality or a large variance in the variety itself. And then there’s the changes in weather from year to year.

I think when Nelson came out it was insane and brewers flocked to get it. A bunch of larger breweries put huge contracts on it and what was left for the smaller breweries and homebrewers was often a far cry from what people know as Nelson. So much of the Nelson (and other NZ varieties) was really machine oil/diesel fuel there for a while. The unique fruitiness was there but it was just overpowered by the stanky diesel notes.

Shaun has had contracts for NZ hops for a while and I think makes a yearly trip down there for selection. He’s also one of the only breweries in the US with a contract for Riwaka, which in my mind is right up there with Nelson when it’s good. But it’s super hard to get and supposedly has the lowest yield of all NZ varieties per acre. I believe I read something he wrote about the hop selection in NZ this year.

Breweries like Cellermaker and Modern Times also made it a point to talk about traveling to NZ this year and being able to select better lots of Nelson than what they were able to get in the past. Cellermaker guys were even speaking about picking some lots that had that more diesel like character and some that didn’t.

I would say as homebrewers don’t judge a hop by what we end up getting. It’s often the bottom of the barrel and in no way resembles what the best lots of the variety are like. From my experience Galaxy has always been the highest quality hop with the least amount of variation. At least the batches I’ve used are all incredibly intense and really mirror the flavors and aromas found in the best breweries Galaxy beers. Vic Secret always seems to be incredibly punchy and aromatic as well but I haven’t used it nearly as much.

 

Had this beer on tap at The Three Penny Taproom a little over a year ago after a wonderful long weekend in Burlington, Waterbury, and Stowe. After all that great beer, this might have been the best one of the weekend. One of the better IPAs I've ever had.