NT, What Beer Do You Drink?

[Comparison Ford]

Sidenote: I love it when people treat beer like....beer and not investments. Certainly there are exceptions (prime example being OH x Monkish) but cats were trying to do one shake for two aslin cans locally

You see this a lot with Monkish cans. A lot of people that trade Monkish cans ask for ridiculous/unreasonable ratios (3:1, 4:1, etc). In a sense I get it though. Most Monkish releases allow customers to walk way with about 8 cans, whereas breweries like Other Half allow customers to walk away with 4 cases of beer every release. I'd be a little choosy about what I was accepting if I could only acquire that many cans after putting in that much time and energy.

Funny, though. Monkish did a tap takeover at Other Half on Friday and while it was a mad house there, it seemed like the general consensus was that the beers were all extremely similar to Other Half's regular offerings and that people didn't think they were worth going crazy over. I always figured the hype was based more off of the fact that the west coast still isn't totally up to spec when it comes to hazy/NE-style IPAs as the east coast is, and a lot of the feedback I was reading confirmed that opinion. That's not to say Monkish doesn't brew great beer, though. I've enjoyed every collab I've had from them. Just not too sure how distinguishable they are from the rest of the crowd.

 

[af1 1982]

You see this a lot with Monkish cans. A lot of people that trade Monkish cans ask for ridiculous/unreasonable ratios (3:1, 4:1, etc). In a sense I get it though. Most Monkish releases allow customers to walk way with about 8 cans, whereas breweries like Other Half allow customers to walk away with 4 cases of beer every release. I'd be a little choosy about what I was accepting if I could only acquire that many cans after putting in that much time and energy.

Funny, though. Monkish did a tap takeover at Other Half on Friday and while it was a mad house there, it seemed like the general consensus was that the beers were all extremely similar to Other Half's regular offerings and that people didn't think they were worth going crazy over. I always figured the hype was based more off of the fact that the west coast still isn't totally up to spec when it comes to hazy/NE-style IPAs as the east coast is, and a lot of the feedback I was reading confirmed that opinion. That's not to say Monkish doesn't brew great beer, though. I've enjoyed every collab I've had from them. Just not too sure how distinguishable they are from the rest of the crowd.

If it's something that people have had to go through hoops to get, I totally get it. But this one dude I was negotiating with was so damn protective of these damn TH milkshake IPAs my homeboy was able to show up two hours after release and leave with a few four packs.

I don't know too much about Monkish since it's west coast but I do see that they do a ticket procedure of some sorts which is cool.

West coast is definitely a tad bit behind the hazy IPA crazy. East coast is killing it. Started in NE and trickled down to Boston, NYC, and even Philly with tired hands. Now the DMV is getting good stuff from the veil, answer, and Aslin

Can't really name too many west coast breweries doing this stuff outside of monkish and bottle logic.

 

[crumps brother]

Some cans (and one bottle) I got today

 

[af1 1982]

Some cans (and one bottle) I got today

Lmk how that keystoner is. Been meaning to get over to pizza boy to try it out along with their pear saison

 

[crumps brother]

It’s real good...

Soft, dry

Great deal for $15 per sixer

The guy I got them from gave me a mixed six which he said was three cans of Keystoner and three cans of Turkey Burglar but I realized later when I put some in the fridge there was only two cans of Keystoner and four cans of Turkey Burglar

 

[neosole89]

Was in LA for the weekend and stopped by Mumford brewing.



Cracked opened the Universal Magnetic tonight. NE style IPA brewed with Plato 16.1, Galaxy and Mosaic lupulin powder. Getting mangos, pineapples and citrus throughout. A slight yeast burn but nothing abrasive. Fantastic brew!

 

[af1 1982]

Cracked open the Focal Banger today....again, I don't see the hype. Maybe this is another case where I'm drinking this a few years too late and my preferences have shifted towards softer, juicier IPAs.

Actually prefer Heady over Focal. FB just has way too much of a malt presence for me.

Oh well, I'll go back to these weekly, "hype" IPAs that TH and OH is putting out. Fits my pallet way more.

 

[wallyhopp]

Between fieldwork, Alvarado street, modern times, breakside for the Portland area, and the two mentioned above monkish and bottle logic, there is no lacking neipas for the west coast. East coast just loves to be center of attention and hype everything up. Apple releases, fashion, footwear, street wear. Now beer. It's All about them. World revolves around NYC and the NE. Very self important people out there LOL.

 

[based mod]

Between fieldwork, Alvarado street, modern times, breakside for the Portland area, and the two mentioned above monkish and bottle logic, there is no lacking neipas for the west coast. East coast just loves to be center of attention and hype everything up. Apple releases, fashion, footwear, street wear. Now beer. It's All about them. World revolves around NYC and the NE. Very self important people out there LOL.

My man

West coast is definitely a tad bit behind the hazy IPA crazy. East coast is killing it. Started in NE and trickled down to Boston, NYC, and even Philly with tired hands.

Hmph.

 

[af1 1982]

My man





Hmph.

Leave me be, I post in here after I let the IPAs flowing

 

[stork]

​

 

[af1 1982]

Got a potential trade lined up. Dude wants some Aslin (Hazy Tears and Johann Mango) for Foam (Built to Spill and Pavement). Heard some good stuff from Foam in here. Those beers good?

 

[wallyhopp]

Didn't mean to cause any trouble with my Ec is entitled talk. They definitely have the highest concentration without a 5 hr radius of NYC to be considered the Mecca (the regional area itself). It started with alchemist many years ago. Then tree house and tired hands came around 2012ish. Trillium in 2013. By then everyone else caught on and caught up. NYC a little faster than other areas. But they we're definitely late to the party and now they sort of get lumped in with all the other greats that have been around longer. You could probably pit NYC against SD or LA and come out in a tie. NYC definitely has the luxury of being closer to the action.

But what do I know. I'm caught between both coasts. Even Denver has some hazy ipas. Every metro in America now has something cloudy or hazy.
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Only had built to spill on draft. That one seems to release most often in can form. Either most popular or easiest to make. Not their best but not their worst. Experimental jet set blew my mind.

Then again on untapped, foam is rating really high right now so both built to spill and pavement seem like good beers to try in a trade. I wouldn't trade over $4$

 

[af1 1982]

Didn't mean to cause any trouble with my Ec is entitled talk. They definitely have the highest concentration without a 5 hr radius of NYC to be considered the Mecca (the regional area itself). It started with alchemist many years ago. Then tree house and tired hands came around 2012ish. Trillium in 2013. By then everyone else caught on and caught up. NYC a little faster than other areas. But they we're definitely late to the party and now they sort of get lumped in with all the other greats that have been around longer. You could probably pit NYC against SD or LA and come out in a tie. NYC definitely has the luxury of being closer to the action.

But what do I know. I'm caught between both coasts. Even Denver has some hazy ipas. Every metro in America now has something cloudy or hazy.
------
Only had built to spill on draft. That one seems to release most often in can form. Either most popular or easiest to make. Not their best but not their worst. Experimental jet set blew my mind.

Then again on untapped, foam is rating really high right now so both built to spill and pavement seem like good beers to try in a trade. I wouldn't trade over $4$

You good man, you always providing info whether it be old Nike trainers or craft beers. I'm only 26 and started drinking craft beer as soon as I turned 21. And it wasn't until about a year or two ago that I really started paying attention to microbreweries. So I always appreciate the vets like you and Ford providing insight on this stuff.

Another question is, were double IPAs big back when Heady Topper was first released? Just trying to understand because I think I'm just too late on Heady and Focal to really appreciate it's impact during the times. For me, they taste like something I can walk into my distributor to get. And I wonder if it's because those styles of IPAs exist because Alchemist was one of the first to do it (or popularize it)

As far as the Foam stuff goes, I think I'll go through with it. My girl got a Foam glass when she visited Vermont last year (suprisingly she didn't get me any VT beers), so it's only right that I get the beers to join them

 

[troublebound666]

Even Denver has some hazy ipas.

The haze has overtaken Colorado as a whole. We're turning out some of the best ones in the country, to be honest.

 

[wallyhopp]

Everyone's been chasing heady for years. No one could get too close to it. So it seems like a few just took a few elements they loved about it (creamy soft texture) and went about making it better. The haze was a result of the yeast being used.

Heady has been big for 5-6 years now ( family went out east in 2012 and it was still a small operation). Lawson's sips of sunshine is/was pretty big ibu abrasive dipa and still somewhat sought after. I think that ones tanking a bit.

Pretty much I think everyone else has caught up on a quality front.

Cford mentions it but hopslam had some hype and was trade material no more than two years back. Troegs nugget nectar was another big one. I'm probably missing a couple regional ipas that took the country by storm. Now those almost seem laughable. Pliny the elder is great if available locally but nothing more than a really clean dry finish citrus laden IPA. I feel 70% of new breweries out there get close enough to this simpler beer (simpler than Ht).

Ipas have been about 60% of sales for many of my local breweries. These ones are piney and abrasive and nothing soft or fruity about them.

That's the biggest takeaway IMHO. Most of alchemists lineup is pretty old school compared to the new stuff. Ipas have always been huge and everyone's been chasing heady topper for years. Then your own local place opens up and is quite solid. Money starts staying in the home turf.

I'm seeing no indication that the bitter bombs are becoming any less popular. There does appear to be enough room for both styles as the beer base continues to grow.

Focal is still a pretty new beer. But I think all of alchemist has been overtaken by better options.

Tl;Dr.
Ipas and dipas have been popular going on 20 years. Until HT came out, the style was big, brash, highly bitter, and mostly pine and malt bombs. Tastes have changed. Some breweries have adapted. Some haven't.

 

[neosole89]

Had “Built to Spill” back in Oct. Remembered it being pretty good.

 

[crumps brother]

Have some Trillium and Pizza Boy cans I may be looking to trade if anyone wants to look at working something out

 

[af1 1982]

wallyhopp you're the man. After having HT and FB, I might just trade away this can of Pappy's Porter I have. You mentioned Nugget Nectar, cats go crazy for that in my area (20 min from Hershey) and cases were sitting at distributors like it's nothing. Every bar included it in it's $3 happy hour special. The only time I've really been wowed by Nugget Nectar was when I had it on Nitro and it really brought the creamsicle taste through.

Last night I had the the Neutrino DDH from Aslin. I was weary about this because my experience with Galaxy hops haven't been my favorite (Elysian space dust). I usually get the slightly spicy green pepper note that I dislike. But on this one it was perfect. Whatever they did to enhance the mouthfeel (lactose I believe) really made all the difference. You could smell the pepper but it didn't come through the taste at all. The pineapple completely shined. First beer from Aslin and it was fantastic

crumps brother , I'd be down to trade for some Trillium since you are fairly close to me. My current cans I have that I'd be willing to trade if anyone is interested is:

2x We're All Infinite Energy Vibrating at the Same Frequency by Tired Hands
1x Pappy's Porter by the Alchemist
1x each of Hazy Orange Tears with Pineapple/Johann and the Mango Thief/Neutrino DDH/Laser Raptors by Aslin

 

[neosole89]

Interesting article from the NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/business/craft-breweries-local-economy.html

 

[Comparison Ford]

Maxing out on the Other Half x Monkish collabs allowed for some real good tradin' to take place. Being an unabashed Hudson Valley fanboy, I decided to trade for some of their newer cans that I didn't get a chance to try. Allow me to throw some reviews your way:

Hudson Valley Star Chamber. 7% ABV sour IPA brewed with raw wheat, malted oat, milk sugar, green tea, papaya, coconut and hopped with Simcoe. The green tea and Simcoe shine through in this one. Generic fruitiness, but kind of hard to pinpoint the papaya and coconut notes. Perfect amount of tartness as usual. However, this one is somewhat lacking in that creamy component I come to expect in Hudson Valley sour IPAs. Slightly undercarbed as well. Still a really tasty beer, but not my favorite from them. Great can art, though.

Hudson Valley Incandenza. 6% ABV sour IPA brewed with the same base (raw wheat, malted oat, milk sugar), but this one is just Citra and Simcoe. This one reminds me of a fuller/more flavorful version of the dry-hopped Pop! beers from Grimm. A smooth, creamy, perfectly tart crusher. Also enjoy the 12 oz. format.

Hudson Valley x Root and Branch An Outstanding Contribution To The Historical Process. 6% ABV sour IPA with that same base, but this has blueberries and is hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy. Really awesome color on this. Flavor is insane. Huge natural blueberry flavor. The milk sugar makes it remind me of blueberries in cream (or blueberry Gogurt, for the unrefined palate ). Again, the balance between hoppy and tart is perfect on all of these beers. Hard to call them true "sours" based on how approachable they are. This one was ridiculous.

Hudson Valley Mirrorshield. 7% ABV sour IPA brewed with the same base, but with lychee, chamomile, lavender, and hopped entirely with Mosaic. This one overcomes the issues Star Chamber had with creaminess and carbonation. Flavor on this one is nutty. The combination sounds so odd, but it works so well. Super tropical with a really nice, mellow herbal note from the chamomile and lavender. One of their best beers I've had to date. I really need to make my way up to Beacon one of these days to grab cans.

Upcoming reviews: Hudson Valley Incandenza with Galaxy, Tree House Hurricane, Tree House Present Moment, Other Half Florets, Other Half Green Flowers.

Cheers, NT!

 

[kngpin88]

I plan on visiting both Hudson Valley and Equilibrium in June when I head back to NY. My brother sent me a newsday article concerning Sand City's extended closure. If they do decided to move I hope it's still in Suffolk county.

 

[Comparison Ford]

I plan on visiting both Hudson Valley and Equilibrium in June when I head back to NY. My brother sent me a newsday article concerning Sand City's extended closure. If they do decided to move I hope it's still in Suffolk county.

I was gonna post about this. Apparently they're gonna stay closed until at least March 28th when they have their zoning board meeting.

At this point I think the best thing they could do is see the writing on the wall, pack up their stuff, and leave. The town of Northport is too bougie to allow a thriving craft brewery to take over their main strip of town. The lines clogging up the sidewalks, the trading (and sometimes bottle shares), and the crowd of outsiders (most of which come from towns less affluent than Northport) have left a sour taste in the mouths of locals that don't appreciate craft beer. I've seen multiple instances of older women walking past the line with their dogs or yuppies driving past stopping to ask what the line is about. When they get the answer their usual response is "FOR BEER?! " as they move right along.

I've been saying it since day 1 for the can sales; Northport isn't built for a hyped brewery. The culture in that town is way too restrictive. They'd be better off moving to somewhere like Port Jefferson or Patchogue, both of which have really good craft beer scenes and more permissive attitudes towards alcohol in general.

 

[af1 1982]

Similar situation with Aslin in Herndon. To They had to shut down their tap room due to issues with the other businesses in their industrial park.

 

[UnicornHunter]

not too impressed