Heretic Brewing Co.

[Sacreddog717]

I just tried Heretic's Evil Cousin, Jamil’s new brewing co. "Evil Cousin is Heretic's take on a West coast imperial IPA. This beer is a bold, in-your-face hop monster. It has a light, easy drinking malt character that allows the hops to stand out. The hop character in this beer is intentionally on the dank side; big, sticky, and aggressive. This beer is for those of you who can't get enough hops. Join us on the dank side." In-your-face hop monster is right. My first beer tonight was a Pliny and this thing was just as light but bitter. I love me some bitter IPA's but after a Pliny it was really hoppy bitter. Not in a bad way. Just surprising. After a couple sips it was aggressively good. I'll definately go back for more. They just got it in on Tuesday and I'm in the SF Bay are, so it is fresh.

http://hereticbrewing.com/

 

[Push Eject]

:::highfive:::

 

[Sacreddog717]

Anyone else try any Heretic brews?

 

[eastoak]

where did you have it?

 

[Shooter]

I believe they have the Evil Cousin at Handles in Pleasanton. I was there on Saturday and was into my third and final beer before I saw it was on the menu.

 

[Sacreddog717]

I had it at the Dublin Sports Pub & Grill.

 

[shanecb]

Wish I could get some Heretic beer out here in Pennsylvania. I'd love to try it.

 

[DoubleAught]

You left coasters have a lot of nice brews out there...I'm a little jealous

 

[Push Eject]

We try to keep our Find-Some page up-to-date at http://www.hereticbrewing.com/find-some

 

[munche]

I had some Tafelbully at Blue Palms in Hollywood, CA. It was an interesting beer, a funky Belgian take on a session brew. Definitely one of a kind.

 

[dnslater]

Northern sells kits that clone this beer.

 

[ndsgr]

I believe I have had Tafelbully. I want it on tap at my house, or at least a clone.

 

[Sacreddog717]

Went back this Sunday and had a couple more Evil Cousin's and I'm really liking it.

 

[Apendecto]

At the GABF, I was thrilled to see Jamil's brews there. Evil Twin, Tafebully and Evil Cousin were all there and sampled.

I couldn't have been more disappointed. I really thought Mr. Malty himself would brew better beer. They all ranked as some of the worst I had there. His beers were aggressive and seemed really young to me. Who knows if this is true, but I felt like they'd all be better in few weeks.

I was really shocked about Evil Twin. I've seen a recipe from him with the same name (who knows if it's the same brew) and it was all 20 minute or less hop additions. His thought was to pack it full of aroma and chill out on the bitterness. It was exactly the opposite. Horribly bitter (and I love hops) and strange. I really don't know how else to describe it. I was less than impressed. Way less.

 

[Shooter]

I wonder if it was another young batch? I know he wasn't that happy with the NHC kegs and felt they needed a bit more time. I thought the Evil Twin was decent. The Tafelbully was fine, just not my style of beer. I saw him later that week and mentioned that I enjoyed the beer. He was thankful, but you could almost read in his face that he wasn't completely happy with it. I wonder if they're still dealing with timing of their batches and learning how much they need to brew and when in order to keep their pipelines full?

 

[Apendecto]

Seems like a bad idea to bring beer you weren't really happy with to a place where all sorts of people are going to get their first impressions.

 

[makomachine]

I'm a JZ fan, as he is responsible for a bulk of my brewing education. That said, beer at GABF should meet the same standards as the locations that it's served on tap to paying customers. This sounds like QC problems that I can't help but think makes itself into the sold product.

 

[thegerm]

sounds to me like a brand new brewery working out their processes and recipes. I hope heretic is successful and can't wait to see it on the east coast.

 

[ChrisKennedy]

The beers appear very divisive right now.

Evil Twin is indeed all late hops, we are just struggling with the amount of IBUs we are getting from an extended hot stand. We are getting 65-75 IBUs with all the hops going in at 5mins or flameout.

Evil Cousin is intentially aggressive, but just as divisive as the Twin. Not everyone likes dry, dank IPAs or beers made with summit.

I don't know what to say about them being the worst you tried at the GABF unless you let expectations overcome reality. In their current state, I think they are fine beers, and many do seem to enjoy them. We also both believe that all of our beers need work, and will continue to be worked on until both of us believe that they are perfect. So in other words, we will always be tweaking them.

Thanks for your comments regardless, the feedback is useful. I just hope you will give us another try in the future to see if we have improved and more meet your expectations for what JZ's beer should taste like.

And we wouldn't have served beer we weren't happy with. Your opinion on the beer, while perfectly valid and valuable to us, is not universal. While I am sure you are not the only one that hated the beer, there were indeed plenty of people that seemed to enjoy it. But the divisiveness of the beer is certainly not ideal for us as a company.

 

[Phunhog]

Just goes to show that everyone has their own individual tastes and no one can claim a beer in general is "awful". The beer that you think is awful could be another beer drinker's "desert island" beer. The "one" they couldn't live without. I am sure some of Heretic's beers, just like any brewery, fit this description. I think the thing that Heretic has working against it is that everyone is expecting huge things right from the start!! Jamil is like the top draft pick in the NFL and everybody is "expecting" him to do great things from the start. People are appproaching the beers with so much anticipation that I think it would be hard to live up to the "hype". They want world class beer NOW!! Pretty hard to do....even if you are Jamil.

 

[Shooter]

Seems like a bad idea to bring beer you weren't really happy with to a place where all sorts of people are going to get their first impressions.

I think with NHC Jamil had pretty much committed to having it there. So, it might not have been quite where they wanted it, but I thought it was very drinkable.

Chris, thanks for the update! I see that Handles and The Hopyard in my area both have the beer on tap. Glad to see it's getting out there.

 

[LVBen]

I think the thing that Heretic has working against it is that everyone is expecting huge things right from the start!! Jamil is like the top draft pick in the NFL and everybody is "expecting" him to do great things from the start. People are appproaching the beers with so much anticipation that I think it would be hard to live up to the "hype". They want world class beer NOW!! Pretty hard to do....even if you are Jamil.

Well said!!!

I can't wait to get my hands on some Heretic brews. I look forward to seeing some out here in Las Vegas.

 

[erockomania]

I've had Evil Cousin all over the bay area and it's my favorite IIPA right now. No question. When it's fresh, it's remarkably complex and wonderfully aromatic. I've turned about a half dozen friends onto this beer and they are all head over heels for it. Had it freshly tapped at a Heretic pint night at EJ Phairs in Pittsburg and it was absolutely phenomenal. Got to chat with Jamil for quite a while as well. Super cool dude. Do yourself a favor and give this another try if you weren't super sure about it the first time... It may have been tweaked a little since they first started brewing it. Oh, and if you go to a place that doesn't know how to pour an IPA, ask for some head (wait, that sounded bad)... If you don't, you are missing out on half the fun... The aroma!

Eric

 

[LarryC]

Anybody know how far their distribution goes? I'm down in San Diego and haven't seen it around yet...

 

[Shooter]

Had the Evil Cousin at Handles a couple weeks back and it was some powerful stuff!!

 

[erockomania]

Anybody know how far their distribution goes? I'm down in San Diego and haven't seen it around yet...

Find Some

 

[r2eng]

I had this one tonight (well, right now actually). Well made beer. I like it...

However, the hop profile is not "floatin' my boat". The turpentiney/tropical taste I get is not my favorite. I will be easily finishing this beer, and the hop profile is similar to others (Green Flash, for one).

Anyone know what hops this is?

 

[supe_kitchen]

Had all three at GABF and was also disappointed (although my expectations were sky high). Tasted a little young, but since it is JZ I have to give the benefit of the doubt. I just hope they taste better next year.

 

[WalkingStickMan]

Have any of you had any of JZ's homebrews? I think that that would be an area that was fairer to be hypercritical. Jamil's advice has always been specific to homebrewing; commercial brewing is something that's brand new for him, and I would assume requires some getting used to, time to work out the kinks, etc. If his homebrew was disappointing, that would be one thing (and definitley alarming considering the blind faith I exhibit regarding his advice!). But we're talking about his commercial brews, and I for one am willing to give him some time and space to figure things out. I've had the Evil Twin and Evil Cousin (ordered from Beerforia), and have enjoyed both. I trust that, given a few more months or so, Heretic beer is going to get even better.

(P.S.- Has anyone actually had one of his homebrews? As good as I'd imagine?)

 

[r2eng]

Finishing off Evil Twin Red Ale: I love this beer!!

Just not a fan of the IIPA's hop choice. Evil Twin rocks, IMO.