Tired Hands (2021)

Is this the consensus around here? Living in NYC I've had a decent amount of Tired Hands but not all too often, and I found the DDH Grassman w/Riwaka and DDH Punge w/Nelson I just got to be some of the best IPA I've had in a while. Base Punge was my favorite TH IPA and the DDH version didn't come close to letting me down. Also loved the Peach Eviscerated Pathway and I don't usually like fruited IPA.

 

Chiming in to also add that I think many of the DDH versions have been heads above other Tired Hands offerings from the past 2-3 years, generally speaking. That being said, I thought the most recent DDH Punge was underwhelming... but again, speaking generally.

 

I'm actually loving Peach Eviscerated. I've just had countless cans of the base versions of the DDH beers and personally find the DDH versions mostly imbalanced and lacking subtlety. That said, I do agree that DDH Grassman w/Riwaka is solid.

 

The Kalamansi DDH was really superb. My wife, being Filipino, was super stoked to have it and it did not disappoint.

 

I can agree with this. In many cases I didn't find the DDH versions to be an improvement on the base beer in question, but there are exceptions. DDH Punge (Nelson) was really good. DDH Eviscerated Pathway (Citra) was amazing. There have been some good DDH Alien Church releases. DDH Oblivex (Citra) was good too.

I gotta say though, most of the Galaxy DDH'd beers have been giant misses for me. I don't know if it's the latest crop or just if it's palate shift, but most of the Galaxy-forward beers have a really strong earthy/dirty/scallion type abrasive bitterness that I really don't enjoy. Galaxy is (was?) one of my favorite hops but for some reason in this past year or so it seems to have changed for the worse. Perhaps it's just me. To name a few: DDH HopHands (Galaxy), DDH WeedEater (Galaxy), DDH Wish Fulfillment (Galaxy), DDH Alien Church (Coconut/Galaxy), Premeditation. Wasn't a big fan of any of those.

 

I have not had any of the Tired Hands Galaxy brands you mentioned but hops which are harvested later in the hop harvest season can have qualities of garlic/oniony. Maybe this was the situation here?

Cheers!

 

I can tell without trying that I'm not going to be a fan of DDH Oblivex (Vic Secret). However, the next time I can order base Oblivex, I'm going to order the max. The last two batches, though sadly infrequently released, have been stellar.

 

Galaxy took a bad turn somewhere around 2018-2019 and no brewery has been able to pull much from it. I did like the Weedeater recently, but it still was not the Galaxy we all loved for so many years. RIP.

 

I have the occasional IPA but have to stay away from certain hops (i.e. citra) as I get bad reflux if I dont. Anyways, I recently had small pours of each DDH Wish Fulfillment and DDH WeedEater (Galaxy). To my palate, I thought each were delicious but take my word with a grain of salt.

 

It very well could be the case but it’s probably more of a palate change/preference than an actual massive change in the strain (a lot of people share my opinion in Galaxy but some people, like @jts211 for example, don’t seem to have the same perspective). Who knows. I’m not about to write-off the varietal completely, but I was just curious to see if anyone else shared my opinion. I have a DDH Double Wish Fulfillment (Galaxy) that I’ll try later today to see if it has the same effect on me.

that’s interesting. I have read similar comments on various homebrew forums.

It supposedly is. I only say “supposedly” because Tree House holds their cards really close to their chest. The few homebrew clone recipes I have read do use a good portion of Galaxy for that beer but also feature a slew of other hops (Columbus, etc.). That said, “regular” TH Green is probably my favorite IPA of all time when it’s done right and the past few batches I have had over the last year or so have been quite good but not exactly what they once were. I have read that it used to be a Galaxy-only beer and they recently have tweaked the recipe a bit to be a combo of US and Australian hops...but this is all anecdotal.

I last had VG back in December and it was every bit as good as I can remember so who knows.

Hahah funny you mention reflux. I have never had any reflux/heartburn from anything (food or beer) until this past year or so. Now whenever I have a sour beer it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll get heartburn. Really sucks. I guess it’s one of those nice gifts you receive as you get older (I turned 34 a few months ago).

 

Can only speak to the Adair, but wish I bought twice as much as I did.

 

I work there and I don't know what I'm gonna do when it's gone =(

 

I've done some searching but have been unable to get the answer and I need to know so I can order before he leaves town, if I order can a friend pick up on my behalf?

 

Thanks for the reply! Just made my day

 

Whatever you do, don’t sleep on BellArc. First time I’ve had tree house vibes from a brewery that isn’t tree house (this coming from a New England native). I don’t know how they did it, but they’ve got that signature TH house yeast character spot-on. Bubblegum/esters, drinks way too easy for an 8% abv DIPA. Peachy goodness.

Smells and drinks like one of the Curiosity series. Lazy comparison? Sure. But I am lazy so guilty as charged. All I know is that I love this beer and wish I bought a lot more than a 4 pack, which isn’t something I say often with THBC.