some damn good IPA's out there

[Self Jupiter]

Stoneface is upping their game lately, I thought the last batch of Full Clip was nicer than I remembered it to be

[t-the-east]

Stone face. I’m not sure if that game was around when I was in high school, but I wish it was.



Juice bomb. Always a good one


Edited to add the juice bomb

[t-the-east]

Grimm Tesseract. 8% double. Canned 11/26. Absolutely delicious.

[2FUNKY]

So I can’t stand an ipa. Hopped up garbage. With that said, I was at a local joint that Ninkasa brewing was holding a beer tasting event. Asked if they had a lager or amber. Dude brought me this and said sorry man we don’t but please try this on me. I was pleasantly surprised. So much so that I bought a sixer today.

[homebrewd]

Well stocked for my Christmas trip back to the Midwest.

[dookeyXXX]

So I can’t stand an ipa. Hopped up garbage. With that said, I was at a local joint that Ninkasa brewing was holding a beer tasting event. Asked if they had a lager or amber. Dude brought me this and said sorry man we don’t but please try this on me. I was pleasantly surprised. So much so that I bought a sixer today.

I've seen that at a couple of local markets.
Didn't buy it because I couldn't find a BOD or an EBD on the box anywhere and was leary that it had been sitting there for a few months (from my experience, craft brews in the local supermarket tend to sit there for extended periods of time without getting rotated out or pulled...)

[glademaster]

After a beer-centric 5 day weekend in Portland and on the Oregon coast, I can say with absolute certainty that the PDX craft beer scene kicks the living shit out of Seattle's. Same can be said for dining, but this is a beer thread.

I'll skip the Seattle scene and get a room in Portland for a night if I feel like actually trying some world class beer.

Cascade, Great Notion, Culmination, Breakside, Upright, De Garde, Fort George, Ecliptic and Modern Times (I know, originally from SD) all thoroughly impressed me. Pelican makes a decent CDA as a winter seasonal, but the dubbel I tried there was the only beer of the trip I took 2 sips of and gave back to the bartender to pour out. Life is too short to choke down mediocre beer. What a time to be a beer drinker.

[dookeyXXX]

After a beer-centric 5 day weekend in Portland and on the Oregon coast, I can say with absolute certainty that the PDX craft beer scene kicks the living shit out of Seattle's. Same can be said for dining, but this is a beer thread.

I'll skip the Seattle scene and get a room in Portland for a night if I feel like actually trying some world class beer.

Cascade, Great Notion, Culmination, Breakside, Upright, De Garde, Fort George, Ecliptic and Modern Times (I know, originally from SD) all thoroughly impressed me. Pelican makes a decent CDA as a winter seasonal, but the dubbel I tried there was the only beer of the trip I took 2 sips of and gave back to the bartender to pour out. Life is too short to choke down mediocre beer. What a time to be a beer drinker.

According to this article, it seems like even a week in Portland wouldn't be enough!

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/port...s-bottle-shops

[glademaster]

According to this article, it seems like even a week in Portland wouldn't be enough!

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/port...s-bottle-shops

There is a staggering amount of stellar beer in that city. Thinking of going back for my birthday in a few weeks.

[FussyDutchman]

Gave this 30 days before cracking one,9% and full of hop bite. Vic Secret, Denali and Amarillo. I definitely get the orange/grapefruit from the Amarillo but the typical Vic Secret pineapple flavor is more muted than normal. Reminds me a little of Lush with less maltiness but more bitter on the finish, which is not a bad thing.

[glademaster]

Not trying to sound condescending, but is there any reason you elected to not drink that beer while it was fresh? At 30 days old, it's still drinkable, but past prime.

[t-the-east]

Grimm Cloudbusting at a “gastropub” I’ve never been to before. So good. Odd glassware choice for a 8% dipa. Especially at lunch [emoji23]

Not to mention that heavenly pickle on the wall...

Mrs. T’s true identity hidden for TGR purposes

[FussyDutchman]

Not the case at all, most 2x's need a few weeks to settle. I may have waited a week or two longer than normal on this but 45-60 days out most are still just as good if not better than the day they were canned...trust me, a LOT of testing has gone in to this theory.

[buttahflake]

I’m back in. Freaking fresh Cloud Drops are so kind. Look at that lacing. God Damn.
Gas stations in Vermont are fucking nutz. Cider donuts, hot burgers, and kick ass beer.

Go on now

[glademaster]

Not the case at all, most 2x's need a few weeks to settle. I may have waited a week or two longer than normal on this but 45-60 days out most are still just as good if not better than the day they were canned...trust me, a LOT of testing has gone in to this theory.

Interesting. Most of the DIPA's I see out here are in the 7.8-8.5 ABV range, which I don't consider high enough to warrant putting any age on the beer. I have no qualms about drinking un-hazed DIPA's that are 1-3 months old, but it seems like the hazy beers have a shorter shelf life to my palate. I appreciate you expounding on your rationale.

To each their own 'til we all go home, I suppose.

[FussyDutchman]

Interesting. Most of the DIPA's I see out here are in the 7.8-8.5 ABV range, which I don't consider high enough to warrant putting any age on the beer. I have no qualms about drinking un-hazed DIPA's that are 1-3 months old, but it seems like the hazy beers have a shorter shelf life to my palate. I appreciate you expounding on your rationale.

To each their own 'til we all go home, I suppose.

It varies by brewery in my experience here. Cloud Drop is one that doesn't need any time but many are better after a few weeks imo. My issue often is more having too many and chasing born on dates, 1st world problems!

[Doremite]

It varies by brewery in my experience here. Cloud Drop is one that doesn't need any time but many are better after a few weeks imo. My issue often is more having too many a chasing born on dates, 1st world problems!

I’ve found HF canned sns beers mellow nicely and stand the test of time well. Talking 15-45 day window. Pushing 60 doesn’t freak me out like it once did. Rare to go 45+ but I’m ignoring the shot clock. 2 weeks out can be > a matter of days. Rounder mouthfeel.

[FussyDutchman]

Agreed but more on the 2x's, not so much on ipa's. Karma Emulsion and Citra that I had recently fell off much more quickly. Finished my last 2 SS#8s yesterday and 45+ days out they were still excellent.

[Doremite]

Yes mentioned “sns” = Society & Solitude series (all 2x). Agree. Single hop pale stuff particularly amazing yet die quickly on the vine. Blended hop stuff seems to hold better. 11.19 Of Fist & Last still killing it. 12.3 Nelson IPA (yes single but ipa and...) seems to be improving ????

[FussyDutchman]

I followed that...oddly enough, Fiddlehead 2x's (especially mastermind) seem to fall off very quickly, less than 30 days where rarified is still great 45 out. Mniaw and I over endulged on mastermind on tap at a local show year or so ago and the difference between tap and can is so huge I rarely buy it anymore.

I need Peruvian or one of the other resident home brewers to school me on why certain beers/hops age better.

[Doremite]

Guessing hop and craft intersect is some scientific way I’ll never understand. I was initially shocked HF stamped their cans’ best by 45 days out but makes more sense to me now. Not all age the same but in general their hoppy stuff holds up surprisingly well. Can’t same the same for all breweries and hops also seem to interplay. Citra dies quickly for sure.

[Name Redacted]

Good question about why some hops die off faster than others.

My best guess would be that since many of these are used as aroma hops in the end of the boil, whirlpool, or dry hops there is less Alpha acid isomerized, and more hop oils extracted. Hop oils can be very unstable and unpredictable. So while the isomerized bitterness persists, the flavor and aroma of the hop oils fade.
Different hop flavors and aromas come from these oils, and there are a lot of different kinds in different quantities of every every different strain of hops. Not to mention the variability of similar strains grown in different regions. Citra grown in OR might be very different than Citra grown in WA. Some breweries spend the time to go out and select the crop of hops each year that they want to contract. Others just buy whatever is available.

Other factors that could affect the hop qualities are Dissolved Oxygen, water chemistry, or polyphenols bonding with proteins and dropping out of solution, etc etc...

[Self Jupiter]

I followed that...oddly enough, Fiddlehead 2x's (especially mastermind) seem to fall off very quickly, less than 30 days where rarified is still great 45 out. Mniaw and I over endulged on mastermind on tap at a local show year or so ago and the difference between tap and can is so huge I rarely buy it anymore.

I need Peruvian or one of the other resident home brewers to school me on why certain beers/hops age better.

Second Fiddle ages very poorly IME

[Peruvian]

I think oxygenation is a major factor in how quickly hops degrade as shredgnar points out above.

[Doremite]

Good question about why some hops die off faster than others.

My best guess would be that since many of these are used as aroma hops in the end of the boil, whirlpool, or dry hops there is less Alpha acid isomerized, and more hop oils extracted. Hop oils can be very unstable and unpredictable. So while the isomerized bitterness persists, the flavor and aroma of the hop oils fade.
Different hop flavors and aromas come from these oils, and there are a lot of different kinds in different quantities of every every different strain of hops. Not to mention the variability of similar strains grown in different regions. Citra grown in OR might be very different than Citra grown in WA. Some breweries spend the time to go out and select the crop of hops each year that they want to contract. Others just buy whatever is available.

Other factors that could affect the hop qualities are Dissolved Oxygen, water chemistry, or polyphenols bonding with proteins and dropping out of solution, etc etc...

Interesting and helpful. So much I don’t understand about beer beyond consumer perceived quality. I do know HF hand selects their hops so quality of crop alone could enhance shelf life if I’m reading some this correctly. Brew methods I see a major factor as well. I have also heard pH plays a factor too but I am tip toeing outside my pay grade.