Let's Remember Some Beers (In Memoriam: Old IPAs)

[davey101]

This beer was fantastic in 2010 or so. I was so excited when I’d go home to Philly because it would occasionally be on the shelf.

Drank so much of this in college!

Also drank a crap load of this and it was the first brewery I ever visited. Not exactly a hyped beer but it was the very first review added to Beer Advocate back in '96 courtesy of Tawwd.

 

[tikk]

Drank so much of this in college!

Also drank a crap load of this and it was the first brewery I ever visited. Not exactly a hyped beer but it was the very first review added to Beer Advocate back in '96 courtesy of Tawwd.

One of my earliest craft beer favorites. I loved them so much. I had a bar that always had that one on draft, it was my favorite bar. Loved picking up the prefilled growlers at every liquor store that had a craft beer selection. We used to go to parties and walk around swigging from the growlers. I was so ******* cool.

 

[jmgrub]

Oh man, also on that list, Masala Mama. I remember tracking down a growler of that and being so pumped, can't even remember what I thought of it (I could look it up but meh). Does that brewery even exist any more? I don't think I've heard anything about them in 5 years or more.

Town Hall still exists. From what I understand, they don't particularly make an effort to keep up with the hype styles, but some of their barrel aged beers are phenomenal (I believe they are released in pre-filled growlers once annually).

 

[davey101]

One of my earliest craft beer favorites. I loved them so much. I had a bar that always had that one on draft, it was my favorite bar. Loved picking up the prefilled growlers at every liquor store that had a craft beer selection. We used to go to parties and walk around swigging from the growlers. I was so ******* cool.

Ha, used to do the same thing! Gas station near my dorm sold the growlers. That was a totally new concept to me. They were pretty cheap too, like $9 plus deposit?

 

[user 306926]

Oh man, also on that list, Masala Mama. I remember tracking down a growler of that and being so pumped, can't even remember what I thought of it (I could look it up but meh). Does that brewery even exist any more? I don't think I've heard anything about them in 5 years or more.

Just went not too long ago and struggled to be wowed by anything they had on tap. And I tried a bunch.

 

[Phin1]

yeahnatenelson w/ another cool thread to make us old timers reminisce

Ironically, this morning at the Hudson Valley Brewery release, I got the last pour of Triple Sunshine from Lawson' s in a 12oz can. Now that they have their own spot you can actually visit & easily buy beer in large numbers, plus several years go by, flavor of the month shifts...madness subsides.

Never went to any of them, but I remember when they would do those pop-up sales at the Waitsfield VT farmers market every 2-3 months with really strict limits and anytime that Triple Sunshine was available it would sell out quickly & if you wanted to trade it, you could get something ridiculous like St. Lam for it. (people were also letting go of their lambic more easily then, in general)

I never went to those farmers markets, where vendors w/ their jam, honey & veggies were mostly envious, annoyed at that tall craft beer guy drawing giant lines before the market even officially opened. Don I believe likely went to some of them. On one occasion, I did make it to the Warren General Store. They used to drop a smaller variety there , 1 or 2 styles. I got Knockout Blonde, no hype on that one, had to actually drink it. Anyways, here is a photo of the old bomber with that fancy foil. Sorry for all the words.

 

[KevSal]

yeahnatenelson w/ another cool thread to make us old timers reminisce

maybe a hip young online new site reads this and writes about us, calling us old again


your right about triple sunshine, i never had even a shot to try it until it finally got cans lol, 8 years later

 

[davey101]

yeahnatenelson w/ another cool thread to make us old timers reminisce

Ironically, this morning at the Hudson Valley Brewery release, I got the last pour of Triple Sunshine from Lawson' s in a 12oz can. Now that they have their own spot you can actually visit & easily buy beer in large numbers, plus several years go by, flavor of the month shifts...madness subsides.

Never went to any of them, but I remember when they would do those pop-up sales at the Waitsfield VT farmers market every 2-3 months with really strict limits and anytime that Triple Sunshine was available it would sell out quickly & if you wanted to trade it, you could get something ridiculous like St. Lam for it. (people were also letting go of their lambic more easily then, in general)

I never went to those farmers markets, where vendors w/ their jam, honey & veggies were mostly envious, annoyed at that tall craft beer guy drawing giant lines before the market even officially opened. Don I believe likely went to some of them. On one occasion, I did make it to the Warren General Store. They used to drop a smaller variety there , 1 or 2 styles. I got Knockout Blonde, no hype on that one, had to actually drink it. Anyways, here is a photo of the old bomber with that fancy foil. Sorry for all the words.

Lawson's Fest was a hell of a time! Getting some triple sunshine and BA Fayston's seemed so crazy since those beers were so elusive.

 

[yeahnatenelson]

yeahnatenelson w/ another cool thread to make us old timers reminisce

Yesterday someone had replied to a nine-year-old fb post my old BA acquaintence ShogoKawada had made about Haverhill Leather Lips IPA, which got me thinkin':

1) that beer was great,
2) No new brewery would even consider making a beer like it in 2019, and
3) the whales thread was posted about a year ago.

 

[mjohnson171]

Zombie Dust.

Yes, it’s listed as a Pale, but it’s 6.2% and basically an ipa. It’s still an amazing beer.

I just wanted to reminisce about how hot it once was. Getting growlers of it (for a very short time) was almost like a DONG back in the day. They when they started bottling you could get a case of it for $30. And trade that case for almost any beer back in 2012/2013. I’ve got a dozen stories of people pulling whalez with a simple ZD case.

 

[Kentucky1]

Zombie Dust.

Yes, it’s listed as a Pale, but it’s 6.2% and basically an ipa. It’s still an amazing beer.

I just wanted to reminisce about how hot it once was. Getting growlers of it (for a very short time) was almost like a DONG back in the day. They when they started bottling you could get a case of it for $30. And trade that case for almost any beer back in 2012/2013. I’ve got a dozen stories of people pulling whalez with a simple ZD case.

Cenotaph

 

[yeahnatenelson]

Zombie Dust.

Yes, it’s listed as a Pale, but it’s 6.2% and basically an ipa. It’s still an amazing beer.

I just wanted to reminisce about how hot it once was. Getting growlers of it (for a very short time) was almost like a DONG back in the day. They when they started bottling you could get a case of it for $30. And trade that case for almost any beer back in 2012/2013. I’ve got a dozen stories of people pulling whalez with a simple ZD case.

I distinctly remember the buzz around what was then called Cenotaph* -- presumably a Bolt Thrower reference. At the time they weren't even publicizing that it was (at least then) a single-hopped Citra IPA.

Something to consider: it used to be the case that brewers wouldn't divulge what hops went into their prized IPA's. Now, of course, it's an elemental part of their marketing. Three Floyds is still very old-school in that sense.

This is off-topic, but remember Hell's Black Intelligencer?


*ed. note: per the BA listing date Zombie Dust has been around for eight years, JFC I feel old...

 

[SeaWatchman]

Used to crush the above pretty regularly.

 

[steimie]

Back in the day, MarkIntihar used to regularly send me boxes of Columbus IPA and Head Hunter. Both were so good.

 

[yeahnatenelson]

Used to crush the above pretty regularly.

I think about this beer a lot, strangely. Probably haven't had it more than a few times as it never distributed to Chicago, but it was always a much appreciated trade extra.

So often when I drink a hazy/juicy IPA for the sake of keeping an open mind and for fear of becoming old-man-yells-at-cloud I wish more breweries would make something like Columbus IPA.

 

[cneville1]

I think about this beer a lot, strangely. Probably haven't had it more than a few times as it never distributed to Chicago, but it was always a much appreciated trade extra.

So often when I drink a hazy/juicy IPA for the sake of keeping an open mind and for fear of becoming old-man-yells-at-cloud I wish more breweries would make something like Columbus IPA.

I had one of these this weekend, in fact. Still as good as I remembered. Perfectly balanced beer.

 

[yeahnatenelson]

I had one of these this weekend, in fact. Still as good as I remembered. Perfectly balanced beer.

That's encouraging. I see that they also started bottling Bodhi, which I remember being one of the few growler-only DIPA's that lived up to the local hype.

 

[yeahnatenelson]

Another now out-of-style IPA that comes to mind is Lone Pint Yellow Rose IPA. This feels like one of the last talked-about non-hazy IPAs in beer circles prior to the onset of Global Juicening.

I remember really loving it when I could get it, but after chatting at my local bar with some visitors from the DFW area it sounds like quality has since taken a noticeable downturn.

 

[user 311355]

A thread to commemorate the palate wreckers.

These were wild in like 2006.

 

[tosh1]

I am still drinking the best IPA that the world moved on from.

 

[CSO]

Abrasive in a dirty glass (circa 2014) blew away any contenders. Did a blind tasting of HF Abner, Pliny, Heady, and Abrasive with a few mid-level beer idiots. Abrasive was the unanimous number 1.

 

[KevSal]

View attachment 7222

Abrasive in a dirty glass (circa 2014) blew away any contenders. Did a blind tasting of HF Abner, Pliny, Heady, and Abrasive with a few mid-level beer idiots. Abrasive was the unanimous number 1.

yea i couldn’t wait for this guy every year, so damn good fresh. is it still bangin?

 

[yeahnatenelson]

View attachment 7222

Abrasive in a dirty glass (circa 2014) blew away any contenders. Did a blind tasting of HF Abner, Pliny, Heady, and Abrasive with a few mid-level beer idiots. Abrasive was the unanimous number 1.

On a related note, this used to be pretty damn good:

 

[sherm10161]

Speaking of wet hopped beers... This beer still bangs when fresh. Unfortunately, it seems like it sits on the shelf a lot of places. Hopefully it's all gone by the time next year's comes out.

 

[mjohnson171]

Another now out-of-style IPA that comes to mind is Lone Pint Yellow Rose IPA. This feels like one of the last talked-about non-hazy IPAs in beer circles prior to the onset of Global Juicening.

I remember really loving it when I could get it, but after chatting at my local bar with some visitors from the DFW area it sounds like quality has since taken a noticeable downturn.

Can confirm quality has gone down. I used to love that beer. My annual trips to Dallas would include as much LO Hefe and Yellow Rose I could stomach and Yellow Rose quality seems to have been on a decline the last 2 years.

 

[BeersMorgan]

hill farmstead Nor ftw!

some of those you might still be able to get. stone irs? blighs, drie og? you must have ran into those guys since yea

sounds like kern is doing some distro down south, hasn’t made it up here, got the hook up from BigFrank, but their other cans make it up this way

The Stone was the BA IRS they rebrewed as Fyodor's Classic but I never bought it. I think I've had a taster of Bligh's at a share but not positive so I didn't cross it off. Same with Oracle I'm think I had it but not positive.

Unfortunately never had OGV. Drie OG is one of my favorite beers but never come across the Vintage.

 

[BadJustin]

Used to crush the above pretty regularly.

I still grab Flower Power when I see it fresh, no regrets.

 

[lambandtunaphish]

Speaking of wet hopped beers... This beer still bangs when fresh. Unfortunately, it seems like it sits on the shelf a lot of places. Hopefully it's all gone by the time next year's comes out.

Pretty sure one of my local stores still has 2017 bottles on the shelf. Don't think they even bought any 2018 bottles.

I always thought the price for Harvest Ale was a little high (at least in CT), but that was before the $16+ four pack ruined my life.

 

[yeahnatenelson]

Speaking of wet hopped beers... This beer still bangs when fresh. Unfortunately, it seems like it sits on the shelf a lot of places. Hopefully it's all gone by the time next year's comes out.

Pretty sure one of my local stores still has 2017 bottles on the shelf. Don't think they even bought any 2018 bottles.

I always thought the price for Harvest Ale was a little high (at least in CT), but that was before the $16+ four pack ruined my life.

Harvest Ale was always priced high for what it was, about the same pricing as for KBS, but it's not something I ever remember fretting about because at best I might've been able to buy ONE bottle at $7. Just like KBS, in the course of one year it went from a beer being allocated by the single to stacked cases at the supermarket.

 

[yeahnatenelson]

This was always my hop harvest seasonal must-have: