Brü's Views with John Wible | On The Hazy Beer Controversy

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Calichusetts said:
Agree, its just that NE style IPAs have no qualities you list. No chunks, no flaws. They just do a lot of late hopping, use yeasts that are less flocculant, don't do "unnecessary" filtering or cold crashing, and just bottle and serve when ready.
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Word.

I think the misconception is that breweries intentionally make hazy beers. In reality, it's the brewing processes that they don't employ (e.g. fining and filtering) that result in hazy beer. Also, crystal-clear IPAs are very much a new thing, relatively speaking. So really, which style is the controversial one?

As an aside, I tried to acquire WY1318 from my LHBS yesterday and I was told they sold out of 28 smack packs within 72 hours. Seems like there's a few others that figured it out already.
 
NervousDad said:
Yes we have a "NE IPA" konkey dong. And it's just okay, IMO it just hopped to the extreme just for the sake of hopping it to the extreme.

Nothing looks appealing about this beer at all
NOphJkP.jpg


I also had tired hands which is a little bit nicer looking tastes pretty good.
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hazy = OK
murky = NOT OK

huge difference between the pictures on Brü's site and this bucket o'sludge

that looks like the first serving from a primed keg.

no thanks. dump that, dump the next one, I'll take the third pour. maybe
 
I remember when Stouts double IPA came out a long time ago. There were yeast chunks floating in it and it was sludgey but it one of the best beers i had ever had at the time. The haze and junk doesnt really bother me. What bothers me are these beer geeks who think they need to drink ipas the second they get them. Sometimes beer, even an ipa, is much better when you let it mellow for a week or so. I'm Tired of the "fight of the fresh" and the elitism it can cause. It's beer and anyone can buy it. You're not special. Haha.

As for hazy beer... i don't mind it but that donkey kong beer looks awful. Haha. Id probably still try it though because i like beer! :)
 
specharka said:
I think there's a lot of prejudice and preconceived notions of what a beer should and shouldn't look like being espoused here. Personally, I don't give a damn how hazy the results end up being, so long as the beer tastes good. As it so happens, a lot of my favorite IPAs happen to be hazy ones (Hill Farmstead, Tree House & Alchemist to name a few)...but I can accept that could be a product of my environment. Although I've had my fair share of West Coast varieties (Rogue, Lagunitas, SNPA, etc), I understand that my preferences might not be universally shared.

My point being, don't knock it until you try it.
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I've tried it, I didn't like it, I'm trying them again. Several people are sending me NE IPAs to try.
 
specharka said:
Word.

I think the misconception is that breweries intentionally make hazy beers. In reality, it's the brewing processes that they don't employ (e.g. fining and filtering) that result in hazy beer. Also, crystal-clear IPAs are very much a new thing, relatively speaking. So really, which style is the controversial one?

As an aside, I tried to acquire WY1318 from my LHBS yesterday and I was told they sold out of 28 smack packs within 72 hours. Seems like there's a few others that figured it out already.
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I dunno. I know a lot of breweries who don't fine or filter and their beers don't look like some of those. I really think it's a fad and a gimmick, like black IPA.
 
Homercidal said:
Reminds me of the first time I went to Blackrocks in Marquette. They had just opened and were so popular they couldn't keep their fermentors filled long enough.

I won't say the beer was bad, but they were definitely selling it faster then it could ferment. Cloudy as all get out. And people kept drinking it up.

Now they expanded and started up a production location and sell some pretty darn good beer.

Pretty much the same with ELK brewing in GR. (Although I don't know if they have a production location or just upgraded their equipment...)

But those beers were NOTHING CLOSE to as murk as that stuff being posted here!
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Wow very surprised the world outside the UP knows what Blackrocks is I live a block away, one of my favorite watering holes. Love the coconut brown, not a fan of much else but that doesn't really matter I'd drink their brown ale all day. Honey lav smells like a grandmothers bathroom, hipsters dig it tho.
 
Denny said:
I dunno. I know a lot of breweries who don't fine or filter and their beers don't look like some of those. I really think it's a fad and a gimmick, like black IPA.
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Geez Denny, it's not a fad. It's just a healthy amount of whirlpooling, intense amount of dry hopping and higher calcium chloride to sulfate ratio. It's just another interpretation of a hoppy ale. It creates a soft bitterness, tons of flavor and aroma, and a pillowy mouthfeel. What's so bad about that? Maybe some people are tired of the abrasive, sharp, dry bitterness of the west coast style that I've had my fair share of. I don't think breweries like hill farmstead are getting best brewery in the world for no reason. They must be doing something that people are enjoying. Just embrace it even if it's not happening on your side of the coast
 
Just to be clear I don't mind cloudy or hazy beers. IPA's with soft bitterness and huge aroma are cool with me too. I love those and the way they are more balanced. I don't have to have crystal clear beer. But the only one I have a problem with is that "Konkey Dong" one. That photo looks very unappetizing to me. Might as well have called it "Konkey Dung".....Just saying.
 
I agree, that look doesn't please me... but if it tasted good, you damn well know I'd drink it!
 
NervousDad said:
Yes we have a "NE IPA" konkey dong. And it's just okay, IMO it just hopped to the extreme just for the sake of hopping it to the extreme.

Nothing looks appealing about this beer at all
NOphJkP.jpg


I also had tired hands which is a little bit nicer looking tastes pretty good.
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It looks like you're drinking a glass of Yeast Starter.
 
I don't mind extremely hazy beers. Chill haze and hop haze don't bother me, though I generally try to limit it in my own homebrews.

But when it looks like a damn yeast starter for all the sediment floating around in it, I got a problem. Looking at you, Big Bend Brewery.
 
Denny said:
Not me. I don't like filtering beer through my teeth.
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Fair enough. But in my Portland (vs. your Portland), this type of beer is where it is at. Every brewery is offering something in this style now, places like Bissell have people driving up from Boston every weekend, waiting in line (in the rain, like this weekend), to buy Substance and Swish for $13-17 a four-pack (16oz cans, but still). Then they go and wait in the line for Epiphany at Foundation. Allagash used to be the big draw in town, now they rely on these guys to bring people to them...Its crazy.

Its a bubble, just like West Coast IPAs a few years back.;)

The guy behind me in line told me that he is trading swish 1:1 for pliny the elder, which I thought was interesting.

It is what it is, if that is your thing. Personally, I don't see the need to say its bad brewing practice or some such thing, especially since these guys are selling a sh*t-ton of this stuff.
 
broadbill said:
Fair enough. But in my Portland (vs. your Portland), this type of beer is where it is at. Every brewery is offering something in this style now, places like Bissell have people driving up from Boston every weekend, waiting in line (in the rain, like this weekend), to buy Substance and Swish for $13-17 a four-pack (16oz cans, but still). Then they go and wait in the line for Epiphany at Foundation. Allagash used to be the big draw in town, now they rely on these guys to bring people to them...Its crazy.

Its a bubble, just like West Coast IPAs a few years back.;)

The guy behind me in line told me that he is trading swish 1:1 for pliny the elder, which I thought was interesting.

It is what it is, if that is your thing. Personally, I don't see the need to say its bad brewing practice or some such thing, especially since these guys are selling a sh*t-ton of this stuff.
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Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. H. L. Mencken

You could sub "taste" for "intelligence" :mug:
 
Denny said:
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. H. L. Mencken

You could sub "taste" for "intelligence" :mug:
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Oh, you're just sore because nobody is buying the taste-bud stripping, Pinecone beers of the West Coast!:D
 
NervousDad said:
If I put a beer out like that as a homebrewer, I could only imagine what a first time drinker would think of our hobby. I don't care how good it tastes it looks like bile.
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I agree. In the mid 90s a restaurant brewery opened nearby and they brewed a Hefeweizen, which was not commercially widely available at the time I ordered it on two counts I like german beer and the bartender's recommendation. Out comes this nice tall glass of cloudy brew with a lemon slice garnish. It was so good, even though the first reaction was WTF is with the haze? "It's unfiltered" was a good enough answer for me at the time.
The beer pictured looks like a yeast shake.
 
I don't know... I'm not turned away by the latte looking Konkey Dong, it kind of peaks my curiosity actually. Part of the fun factor would be knowing others are convinced it's nasty.

What REALLY turns me off is that sad excuse of a label and name. It looks like an energy drink from Costa Rica or something. Couldn't they put a little more effort into it? I know a label doesn't reflect the inner product but they could at least TRY.
 
clone63 said:
I don't know... I'm not turned away by the latte looking Konkey Dong, it kind of peaks my curiosity actually. Part of the fun factor would be knowing others are convinced it's nasty.

What REALLY turns me off is that sad excuse of a label and name. It looks like an energy drink from Costa Rica or something. Couldn't they put a little more effort into it? I know a label doesn't reflect the inner product but they could at least TRY.
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I think you might have missed the point. After all, their brewery is called "hoof hearted" (say it out loud a few times to get the joke).

I don't think they take themselves very seriously.
 
Denny said:
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. H. L. Mencken

You could sub "taste" for "intelligence" :mug:
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Denny said:
Not really...I don't care what other people drink. :)
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These two things are at odds with one another. You care enough to say that people are stupid for liking something you don't like.
 
I seems like most of the people (brewers) complaining about the hazy IPA fad are on the West Coast. Heck just listen to the Brewing Network and it seems like every episode of every show has a segment ****ting on NEIPAs. I think west coasters are afraid they may lose the “hoppy” mantle that they've carried for so long. It’s only natural to become defensive when something you have fought hard to achieve is being taken away. I’ve had many west coast and NEIPAs. Honestly I love them all, but the West Coast style is just over done. I really enjoy the unique, and delicious character the NE brewers are bringing to IPAs.

Contrary to what most west coasters believe, they are well made, and NOT rushed. It doesn’t matter how long you let these beers sit, the never clear. I've hombrewed a few NEIPAs, and they can sit in a keg in my fridge for months and still look hazy. And they shouldn’t be murky and/or chunky, they should have a heavy haze. That Konkey Dong photo is an embarrassment to NEIPA brewers, but with a name like “Hoof Hearted” is anybody surprised that their labels and beers are ridiculous? That beer doesn't look appealing in the slightest, but all thw Treehouse beers, for instance look (and taste) delicious to me. To each their own I guess.

3-Tree-House.jpg
 
Sir-Brews-Alot said:
I seems like most of the people (brewers) complaining about the hazy IPA fad are on the West Coast. Heck just listen to the Brewing Network and it seems like every episode of every show has a segment ****ting on NEIPAs. I think west coasters are afraid they may lose the “hoppy” mantle that they've carried for so long. It’s only natural to become defensive when something you have fought hard to achieve is being taken away. I’ve had many west coast and NEIPAs. Honestly I love them all, but the West Coast style is just over done. I really enjoy the unique, and delicious character the NE brewers are bringing to IPAs. Contrary to what most west coasters believe, they are well made, and NOT rushed. It doesn’t matter how long you let these beers sit, the never clear. I've hombrewed a few NEIPAs, and they can sit in a keg in my fridge for months and still look hazy. And they shouldn’t be murky and/or chunky, they should have a heavy haze. That Konkey Dong photo is an embarrassment to NEIPA brewers, but with a name like “Hoof Heart” is anybody surprised that their labels and beers are ridiculous?
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I was with you until the BS at the end...

Have you ever even had Hoof Hearted Beer? I'm guessing you haven't.

I'm in favor of anyone who is doing something different than the ever-increasing "snobification" of craft beer, even if it is just a silly name or label.
 
I have to admit that ultra murky, coffee-like look doesn't really do it for me, but I'd still try it (I'll try just about any beer at least once). As a man who likes a wheat beer with a lot of yeast flavor the idea of haze or yeast flavors really isn't that big of a deal to me.
 
broadbill said:
I was with you until the BS at the end...

Have you ever even had Hoof Hearted Beer? I'm guessing you haven't.

I'm in favor of anyone who is doing something different than the ever-increasing "snobification" of craft beer, even if it is just a silly name or label.
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No I haven't, but to be honest if somebody handed me a beer that looked like that, I'd drain pour in front of them, thinking they handed me a yeast starter. And what a ridiculous name, "Who Farted." Who can deny that? I guess I'm just as bad as people who bash NEIPAs without knowing anything about them, lol. I don't really put much stock in how a beer looks, but for it to look like a yeast starter? That's more than I can handle.
 
I think Hoof Hearted is funny. Not ridiculous. So, I guess I and others like me can deny that.

Now I really want one.

ISO Konkey Dong beer.

:)
 
NervousDad said:
Yes we have a "NE IPA" konkey dong. And it's just okay, IMO it just hopped to the extreme just for the sake of hopping it to the extreme.

Nothing looks appealing about this beer at all
NOphJkP.jpg


I also had tired hands which is a little bit nicer looking tastes pretty good.
Click to expand...

If anyone has any Konkey Dong, I'll gladly take them off your hands. :) One of the best beers I've ever had. Seriously.
 
Sir-Brews-Alot said:
I seems like most of the people (brewers) complaining about the hazy IPA fad are on the West Coast. Heck just listen to the Brewing Network and it seems like every episode of every show has a segment ****ting on NEIPAs. I think west coasters are afraid they may lose the “hoppy” mantle that they've carried for so long. It’s only natural to become defensive when something you have fought hard to achieve is being taken away. I’ve had many west coast and NEIPAs. Honestly I love them all, but the West Coast style is just over done. I really enjoy the unique, and delicious character the NE brewers are bringing to IPAs.

Contrary to what most west coasters believe, they are well made, and NOT rushed. It doesn’t matter how long you let these beers sit, the never clear. I've hombrewed a few NEIPAs, and they can sit in a keg in my fridge for months and still look hazy. And they shouldn’t be murky and/or chunky, they should have a heavy haze. That Konkey Dong photo is an embarrassment to NEIPA brewers, but with a name like “Hoof Hearted” is anybody surprised that their labels and beers are ridiculous? That beer doesn't look appealing in the slightest, but all thw Treehouse beers, for instance look (and taste) delicious to me. To each their own I guess.

3-Tree-House.jpg
Click to expand...


I've not yet tried it, but I've had similar, and I just can't help but wonder how it'd taste if it was clear.
 
Brulosopher said:
I've not yet tried it, but I've had similar, and I just can't help but wonder how it'd taste if it was clear.
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Yeah, me too. Some people claim clarifying it will strip out all the "hoppy goodness." I am no expert so I can't say, I do know that they don't taste like any clear IPA I've ever had. Maybe that's not saying much, though haha.
 
slym2none said:
I think Hoof Hearted is funny. Not ridiculous. So, I guess I and others like me can deny that.

Now I really want one.

ISO Konkey Dong beer.

:)
Click to expand...

It is funny. I could see naming a a beer Hoof Hearted maybe, would fit right in with 'The Brown Note.". But to base your whole business on that name? Ridiculous. IMO of course. :mug:

Now if they were called "Sofa King" I'd be all for it. :)
 

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