Your Beer of Choice? (24 Viewers)

[detroitdad]

Hazy IPA in honor of @MatB

 

[CraigT78]

Two local Oktoberfests took home Gold and Bronze at GABF. OHB is owned by my buddies and is on regular rotation at poker nights!

 

[bsdunbar1]

Your hazy/juicy ipa winners g.a.b.f. 2018
Le jus alarmist brewing co. Chicago. Gold
Fairy Nector. Kros strain brewing la vista NE. Silver
Fokien haze. Eris brewing Chicago. bronze

Kros Strain is within walking distance of my house, if anyone wants to try any Fairy Nector this weekend in MN let me know.
I'm not a big fan but this beer is everywhere in Omaha. All grocery stores now have it and it is on tap almost everywhere.

 

[CraigT78]

Kros Strain is within walking distance of my house, if anyone wants to try any Fairy Nector this weekend in MN let me know.
I'm not a big fan but this beer is everywhere in Omaha. All grocery stores now have it and it is on tap almost everywhere.

Yes please!!

 

[k9dr]

Kros Strain is within walking distance of my house, if anyone wants to try any Fairy Nector this weekend in MN let me know.
I'm not a big fan but this beer is everywhere in Omaha. All grocery stores now have it and it is on tap almost everywhere.

I second the request - thanks

 

[k9dr]

Local favorite Cigar City Maduro won the Gold Medal in the Brown Porter category (y) :thumbsup:

 

[CraigT78]

Local favorite Cigar City Maduro won the Gold Medal in the Brown Porter category (y) :thumbsup:

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This beers in my top 5. It’s so damn tasty. Well deserved gold.

 

[Old State]

I thought what you said was pretty clear: making hazy beer doesn't require skill and is less work. I disagree.

An unfiltered IPA is meant to be cloudy, just like a hefe is meant to be cloudy. Whether or not you like it that way is a matter of opinion, but I think it's unfair and untrue to attribute the cloudiness to laziness or a lack of skill on the brewer's part.



So if beer writers and drinkers come up with a name to distinguish a substyle, it's honest and organic, but if brewers do it, it's marketing and wrong?

I won't disagree that there is some marketing to it, since brewers are trying to find ways to distinguish their beers from the 500 others they share shelf space with. But I appreciate descriptive names that help me know what to expect. Regardless of origin, "Double IPA" and "Imperial Pumpkin Ale" have reasonably specific meanings, and I appreciate this when I'm looking to try a new beer.

There was an implication that making a hazy beer required some extra process. It actually requires the omission of a process. I brewed beer for John Harvard’s from 1997-2000 and produced many filtered and unfiltered beers. When you make a white ale you simply don’t filter it. The wheat itself adds haziness along with the yeast. For an unfiltered British style you just crash the yeast by cooling the conditioning tank down to 38 and wait a few days. Then either blow the yeast out the bottom of the tank before moving it or carefully uses a racking arm on a flat bottom tank.

In those years the expectation was to have a wide variety of beer styles on tap at any given time. When we would get invited to other breweries by the brewers they would pridefully show off the wide variety of beers they had made. You would sit down, have some lunch and then be served samples of all their beers from lightest to strongest. You might see ONE IPA at any brewery back then. You would typically see a light lager or ale like Kolsh, etc, a pale ale, a wheat beer, and fruity beer (begrudgingly but required by most breweries) a malty type beer like a Scottish ale, and a porter or stout or both. Also maybe a very strong beer like a barleywine or old ale in the winter. When brewers had a disproportionate amount of strong hoppy beers many thought this was to hide the off flavors they were getting from lack of QC or dirty equipment. At least that is what we always would say.
Everyone understood that beers like miller light, while lacking flavor, were actually the hardest beers to make with consistency especially on such a large scale and at multiple sites.

To your second point, brewers in 17th century England didn’t one day say “let’s make a beer and let’s call it porter”. They just made a beer they liked and it became popular. The consumer actually named the style. This “imperial double IPA” stuff is all marketing.

 

[MatB]

Hazy IPA in honor of @MatB

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ive heard decent things about that one. Any good?

 

[Schmendr1ck]

There was an implication that making a hazy beer required some extra process. It actually require the omission of a process. I brewed beer for John Harvard’s from 1997-2000 and produced many filtered and unfiltered beers. When you make a white ale you simply don’t filter it. The wheat itself adds haziness along with the yeast. For an unfiltered British styles you just crash the yeast by cooling the conditions tank down to 38 and wait a few days. Then either blow the yeast out the bottom of the tank before moving it or carefully uses a racking arm on a flat bottom tank.

In those years the expectation was to have a wide variety of beer styles on tap at any given time. When we would get invited to other breweries by the brewers they would pridefully show off the wide variety of beers they had made. You would sit down, have some lunch and then be served samples of all their beers from lightest to strongest. You might see ONE IPA at any brewery back then. You would typically see a light lager or ale like Kolsh, etc, a pale ale, a wheat beer, and fruity beer (begrudgingly but required by most breweries) a malty type beer like a Scottish ale, and a porter or stout or both. Also maybe a very strong beer like a barleywine or old ale in the winter. When brewers had a disproportionate amount of strong hoppy beers many thought this was to hide the off flavors they were getting from lack of QC or dirty equipment. At least that is what we always would say.
Everyone understood that beers like miller light, while lacking flavor, were actually the hardest beers to make with consistency especially on such a large scale and at multiple sites.

To your second point, brewers in 17th century England didn’t one day say “let’s make a beers and let’s call it porter”. They just made a beer they liked and it because popular. The consumer actually named the style. This “imperial double IPA” stuff is all marketing.

Thanks for the interesting read. I've dabbled in homebrewing, but I'm far from a pro or an expert.

While we'll have to agree to disagree on the whole naming thing, I'm 100% with you on wanting breweries to have a wider variety of styles. It's disappointing to go to a new place with ten beers on tap, and seven of them are IPAs. I generally like the style, but it's rarely my first choice.

 

[detroitdad]

ive heard decent things about that one. Any good?

It's good, but not special if that makes sense.

 

[MatB]

Thanks for the interesting read. I've dabbled in homebrewing, but I'm far from a pro or an expert.

While we'll have to agree to disagree on the whole naming thing, I'm 100% with you on wanting breweries to have a wider variety of styles. It's disappointing to go to a new place with ten beers on tap, and seven of them are IPAs. I generally like the style, but it's rarely my first choice.

Im disappointed when i go to a brewery and theres only one IPA on tap. And usually not a good one.

IPAs DIPAs NEIPAs, call em what you like, i LOVE em' juicy, in your face, hop bombs ! slowly drink a pint and still enjoy just sniffing the empty glass for 1/2 hr after your finished. Not many styles of beers can give you that.

 

[MatB]

It's good, but not special if that makes sense.

yes. Its Sam Adams after all. I've heard from people that have similar taste my own that it was 'ok' also not terrible but like you say, nothing special.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Im disappointed when i go to a brewery and theres only one IPA on tap. And usually not a good one.

IPAs DIPAs NEIPAs, call em what you like, i LOVE em' juicy, in your face, hop bombs ! slowly drink a pint and still enjoy just sniffing the empty glass for 1/2 hr after your finished. Not many styles of beers can give you that.

I'm disappointed when somebody doesn't like EXACTLY what I like. HOW DARE YOU.

 

[MatB]

I'm disappointed when somebody doesn't like EXACTLY what I like. HOW DARE YOU.

You naturally have the right to a wrong opinion. And I will defend your right to it !

 

[MatB]

I'm disappointed when somebody doesn't like EXACTLY what I like. HOW DARE YOU.

But... it does sound like you keep wandering in to pizza shops and wondering where the burger menu is.. perhaps?

EDIT: remind me never to put wandering and wondering in the same sentence again please.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

But... it does sound like you keep wandering in to pizza shops and wondering where the burger menu is.. perhaps?

EDIT: remind me never to put wandering and wondering in the same sentence again please.

Perhaps. I like to explore breweries and brew pubs when I travel (or when they open in my area). The IPA-heavy draft selection seems to occur more often in brew pubs than breweries. IPAs are popular and sell well, so I can't really begrudge them for carrying a product that people want.

I personally prefer a wider variety of styles, that's all.

 

[Brew4u]

Hazy IPA in honor of @MatB

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where did you find that sweet Hop Knot?

 

[detroitdad]

where did you find that sweet Hop Knot?

I'm visiting family in phoenix.

 

[bigdome1984]

I've fallen trap to the lazy, unoriginal, marketing hype beasts that are millennial craft brewers. Doubles, triples, milkshake, Berliner weisse...somebody get me a Bud Light before I'm lost forever!

 

[rocollis]

I've fallen trap to the lazy, unoriginal, marketing hype beasts that are millennial craft brewers. Doubles, triples, milkshake, Berliner weisse...somebody get me a Bud Light before I'm lost forever!View attachment 203343

ummmmmmmm………. poker at my house Friday night? (p.s. bring the beer fridge)

 

[MatB]

I've fallen trap to the lazy, unoriginal, marketing hype beasts that are millennial craft brewers. Doubles, triples, milkshake, Berliner weisse...somebody get me a Bud Light before I'm lost forever!View attachment 203343

I will gladly send you a case of Bud Light in exchange for half the beer in your fridge.

 

[Old State]

I've fallen trap to the lazy, unoriginal, marketing hype beasts that are millennial craft brewers. Doubles, triples, milkshake, Berliner weisse...somebody get me a Bud Light before I'm lost forever!View attachment 203343

Let’s not get crazy! A Bud light is not needed here. Possibly a neck beard and some ironic glasses but no bud light haha

 

[Old State]

Still trying to understand “triple dry hopped”. Like you use triple the amount (which is arbitrary) or you keep moving the beer to different tanks with a new batch of dry hops? Sound suspicious kind of like when you here “cold filtered” knowing that every brewery in the world filters beer cold. It’s like Ford saying the new Explorer features round tires and see through glass!!

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Let’s not get crazy! A Bud light is not needed here. Possibly a neck beard and some ironic glasses but no bud light haha

 

[Brew4u]

some brewers do dry hop on multiple days, they don't move the beer, double or triple dry hop is a total waste of time. Monday I put in 20lbs, then Tuesday 10 more ...etc. it makes no difference just put the hops in the fermenter and be done with it.

 

[CraigT78]

Mosaic IPA. Arguably in the top 3 IPAs out of Texas.

 

[bigdome1984]

ummmmmmmm………. poker at my house Friday night? (p.s. bring the beer fridge)

I do want to make it to a game soon! Because of my work schedule Friday nights are usually a no go for me, but if you ever play on Saturday nights I'm usually good. I'll bring some beer for sure!

 

[Old State]

some brewers do dry hop on multiple days, they don't move the beer, double or triple dry hop is a total waste of time. Monday I put in 20lbs, then Tuesday 10 more ...etc. it makes no difference just put the hops in the fermenter and be done with it.

Not sure how you open a conditioning tank to add more dry hops. They must be using some other method. When we dry hopped we took whole hops, put them in a mesh bag and tied it to the racking arm of the conditioning tank BEFORE we moved the beer from the fermenter. Once the beer level is over the door you can’t open it up again. Nor would you want to. Everything on the cold side of the brewery needs to be a sterile as possible. Dry hopping in itself poses a infection risk.
Then again, with all that malt and bittering hops one probably couldn’t taste the off flavors of an infected beer unless it got sour. They they would just name it “India pale sour”. And IPS!

They must be somehow blowing them in using a recirculating pump which seems pretty goofy and would oxidize the beer. I’ll try to look it up.
Either way these brewers are beer dorks that need a firm collective wedgie

UPDATE: after some research it seems these guys are either moving beer to different tanks or have conditioning tanks large enough to have a hatch on the top. Evidently dry hoping now mean using the same hop pellets used in the boil. 18 years ago dry hopping only meant whole hops

 

[Brew4u]

Cone hop dry hop nice, sounds like the torpedo process(S.Nnevada) w/o the torpedo. Yes they use a pump to do this prior to fermentation being complete so it invigorates the last active cells to Finish ferm, and eat all O2. Yes cold side needs to be as sterile as possible but whole hops and pellet hops are not "sterile" if you have actually done the process you know that whole cone will include, rope from the bines and sometimes large parts of the vine itself.
Btw dry hopping has come a Long way.. we started using a hop gun and have moved to a hop dosing system, I probably/legally would get a little heat if I explained it only two dosing systems are in operation currently, amazing utilization and aroma.

As far as infected beers, if a Brewer lets an infected or an off flavor beer hit the taps, ahh lame. Hops really hide nothing, imho that is an old home Brewer myth. Nothing hides off flavors or infection only thing that does is non informed/educated drinkers and their palate.