Michiganders: Any opinions on Old Nation Brewing out of Williamston?
Their New England style IPAs compare favorably with many top tier examples of the style–definitely on a higher level than any “hazy” brews I’ve had from Bells or Founders.
NEIPAs are neither bitter nor piney. They often look like citrus juice and taste even better.
Well, if you’re looking to get trashed on IPAs, their M-45 is the way to go (not really an endorsement). I haven’t tried anything else from them yet because that one is still saturating my local stores.
Maybe you should become a brewer, it’s cheap and easy and eventually you will get what you are looking for. You can make surprisingly good beer from extract for not much $ or time and while you wait for your latest creation to mature you can dabble in the store bought stuff. My regular swill takes about 2 hrs to brew including cleanup,maybe another hour to transfer into a secondary after a week. Start up costs are minimal (Craigslist), I eventually got a keg and small fridge and don’t ever have to wash bottles. My daily is as good as anything in a bottle for about $1/pint. Cheers…
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IPA has been my go-to style since I was a homebrewer in the 90’s. I went out of my way to find Two Hearted and was disappointed when I tried it. It was just okay.
The next time I had it, it was the best beer that particular bar had to offer and I was pleased to drink it. I guess it all comes down to what it is up against, but I would expect Zymurgy readers to have better taste and broader experience.
Bell’s still not available in Virginia due to distributorship squabbles, but I have several VA IPAs to settle for. 2-hearted has been a favorite of mine for over a decade.
What a bumch of Sad sacks in here to diss IPA!
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I’ve had 60, 75 and 90 minute IPA
60 is decent, 75 is pretty good (maple syrup), and 90 puts me to sleep.
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Yeah, I can’t do high gravity beers. I’m not drinking beer to get shitfaced.
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I’ve considered it before, same with making mead but the prospect of jumping in seems a bit overwhelming. There is a good beer supply business where i live, some day i’ll pick their brain on starting.
Higher proof beers work great for me because i tend to nurse them, so i tend to seek out the stronger ones so i can sip at my leisure and still get a good buzz. I don’t always do so of course, but more often than not that’s what i like to drink.
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I’m not surprised, this poll has favored IPAs and Imperial Stouts for years now. Before Two Hearted got to the top, Pliny the Elder was there for eight years in a row. The whole thing is ridiculously self-selected; IPAs are still going gangbusters in the market, so they’ll be rated higher. Two Hearted (and Pliny before it) is the best, because everyone knows it’s the best, and so on. You’re never gonna see a simple, excellently-made, but otherwise nondescript beer at the top of that list.
Back to IPAs, my pet theory as to their popularity is that it’s a similar effect to people who like spicy food. Their taste threshold shifts, so they need stronger and stronger flavors. I had to give up beer for a few months, and when I came back, everything even a little bitter tasted awful. It’s only recently that I can enjoy well-made IPAs. Which are not cheap to brew, btw, especially the New England hazy ones that are in right now. Hops are the most expensive ingredient by far, especially the types that are popular for NEIPAs (yeast may actually be more expensive by weight, but most breweries reuse it several times per pitch, which reduces the overall cost). Breweries make IPAs because their customers want them, not because they’re cheap to make. They might be a bit easier to produce than lagers, but not necessarily cheaper.
On that note, adjunct lagers did not become popular in the US because rice was cheaper. It wasn’t, and it isn’t, any cheaper a grain than barley malt. That’s why AB-InBev switched from rice to rice syrup for Bud Light. Lagers became popular because they were light-bodied and more drinkable than the darker, heavier (predominantly English-style) beers that preceded them. Also, people got used to soft drinks during Prohibition, and adjunct lagers were the closest thing to those.
tl;dr: Zymurgy’s list is not a reliable indicator of quality, just popularity.
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