Two growlers of Hoppy Birthday and Bad Boy IPA that I had from Alpine probably three years ago now are some of the best IPAs that I have ever had in my life! Had a feeling things were going this way when they started showing up here in bottles in MN.
Same can be said of TG though then they started contracting out their bottles and bottling them in FL. They just arent the same as the original bottles or drafts from the brewery.
Psuedo sue from Florida is so crappy
Pales in comparison to when it first came out!!
A year or so ago I wrote a piece for another board regarding " terrior" in beer, not necessarily as it pertains to wine but pretty close, citing water sources and equipment and scaling as issues as critical as vineyard locations heat fog and cooling trends. With Alpine as well as TG and other craft breweries moving or expanding their operations into new geographical locations I am hearing more and more from people agreeing that there is something to " place " when it comes to a beers identity and overall flavor profiles.
Cheers,
Bud
Charlie, why is it crappy now ? Haven’t had any of the geographically changed TG.
Cheers,
Bud
Matt, thats good to hear that the new bottles are being received as well as you describe, I believe I sent you some of the OG Nelson back then ?, so its a good thing you think its getting close to the OG.
Cheers,
Bud
I don’t get it?
For the past year 6 packs of pseudo sue have been brewed down in Florida by a contract facility then trucked to the Midwest for distribution. Going from one of the best pale ales in the US to the junk out of the 6 packs makes me sad
Do they still have fried green beans?
Will be interesting to see what GF can do with the recipe. As noted on the beer thread, I’m now getting bottles of Duet in WA and I’ve got a buddy in NC that is buying bottled Hoppy Birthday at he local shop. Given VA and IL sightings, sounds like they’re mass producing. Not “regional,” but full-on national scale.
Alpine has showed up in Houston Whole Foods. I picked up a Nelson and Hoppy Birthday for science, but I’ve never had the original so I have no basis of comparison. Haven’t opened them yet.
Nelson will probably taste great for you, although it is currently about a 65% facsimile, Hoppy Birthday may be enjoyable for you but it is nothing like the OG, not close.
Cheers,
Bud
I agree with this. I had Nelson a handful of times pre-Green Flash, and the bottles I’ve purchased here in Chicago have been consistent with my recollection. I love it. Hoppy Birthday has been good (very good compared to other 5%ish beers on the market here), Duet has not been. Drinking Pure Hoppiness right now. I don’t know what it was like before the change - it’s a nice, clean double IPA.
Sad in that I never got to try an Alpine and have read on this forum such high praise. I did see some Alpine Nelson when I was in Virginia but it had Green Flash on the bottle and I decided to pass on buying given the comments here and the fact that I chose to put my money into buying more of the local Virginia beers to try.
Thank you to all who help identify and support the local craft brewers who are making stuff worth seeking out.
I guess Nelson at even whatever % its original formula is still more than decent, at least to my palate it’s still pretty unique to our options here. I’m really not buying though @ $8+ per 22oz. Bottle. Tap seems to be popping up lately and $14 growlers are pretty much gold. Im certainly not buying Hoppy Birthday at the same price, too many similar cheaper beers to pay the tariff for a session iPa. Pure Hoppiness has pushed the 6 pack price point to $20 and while I’ve bought a few it is certainly pushing a ceiling for me.
I find the whole pricing interesting and we have had Maine Beer Co come into Ohio recently even pushing the envelope further.