In other circumstances I would assume that at some point a Vermonter, probably drunk, demanded to know why their Long Trail Brewery hadn’t made a super-IPA using nothing but Cascade hops. Most likey that isn’t true. Professional brewers are often obsessive hermits, so I have to assume that Long Trail’s brewmaster made this beer on a whim and the brewery sold it to maintain good relations with their meal ticket. Don’t get me wrong, the brew isn’t a train wrecking into an airplane full of spiders like that godawful stout from Southern Tier. The Long Trail IPA just seems like a vanity project that accidentally got approved for mass production.
Most brewers use Cascade a an aroma hop because it less bitterness and more of a fruity character. The variety is hugely popular as a finishing touch for the pleasant ‘nose’ it gives a beer, but most brewers start their brew with something with more bitterness and less flavor to give the beer a more bitter foundation. They add the flavorful stuff like Cascade at the end, when hops contribute more to the flavor than the fundamental bitterness. To see this strategy in its purest, most intense form find west coast specialty brewers like Lagunitas or Green Flash. Brewing with nothing but Cascade makes beer seem a little fruity, and if you throw buckets of Cascade hops to make a ‘huge’ IPA it tastes like carbonated grapefruit juice.
Strangely, a buddy and I the same beer yet his looked like Dogfish Head 60 min. in terms of color, head and clarity yet mine was cloudy with protein, like a yellower Hooegarden.
Right now I’m much happier with my own Pale Ale. I dreamed of trying Sam Calagione’s continuous hopping approach as soon as I read about it, and for the homebrewers I can say that it makes a huge difference.
Nostrovia!
Comrade Stuck
I used to brew brew with one of those mail order kits. I mostly went for the Stout formula and upped the alcohol content even past the 12 percent recommended . Put a thick carpet of hair on your chest. even for women, yessiree, it did!
ihop
a couple of my buds and i bought a case of the dogfish head 120 last week. 45 dollars a 6 pack. worth every penny. tomorrow will be the consuming of bottle two. the first few sips i will question my sanity about the expense, but an hour or so later i will be very happy i did.
Doctor Science
I’m a pollworker, and after I get home on whatever Election or Primary Day it is — after my 16-hour workday — I’ve been making a tradition of Rogue Chocolate Stout. I *do* like Young’s Double Chocolate, but it seems deeply wrong to have an English beer after working the polls all day.
bogart
You should have a Sweetwater IPA. Atlanta has the best brewery.
Proportion Wheel
I like the Long Trail unfiltered pretty well. It does vary somewhat from batch to batch, which to me is sort of reassuring. They made a filtered IPA for many years, and it was crap. The unfiltered cascade-hopped ale was originally a seasonal special, but it sold so much better that they stuck with it, or so I heard.
My current favorite, however: Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale. Yum. Alas, not from my home state, as is Long Trail.
Crashman06
@Proportion Wheel: I’ve found that there’s not much Dogfish Head can do that I don’t like. They know what they’re doing down there in Delaware.
Stuart
Have any of you ever made spruce beer? Take a basic porter and add fresh green spruce tips as part of the boil hops – very interesting stuff but I couldn’t drink too many. I had some smoked beer in Flagstaff once and it was the most unique beer I have ever had. Very intense flavor and the brewer told me how they smoked the malted barley in a big smoker. It was almost like a cordial and would have made a great BBQ marinade.
Garrigus Carraig
[urp. Sorry, bad post. Maybe I’ll try again.]
monkeyboy
Maybe you got a funny batch. The stuff I tried says on the label ‘all natural IPA unfiltered Long Trail’ and was quite tasty.
My local distributor had it on special for like $19 a case and I bought maybe 4 cases.
ninerdave
YA!!! It’s back!
Tim, you’ve nailed 1 of my top brewers. Green Flash. Lagunitas I like a lot, but wouldn’t put them up there in the realm with Green Flash. Their Le Freak however, is an experiment that well shouldn’t have even been attempted.
Check out Stone Brewing. Dunno how far they go out east as they are based in San Diego (although I suppose so is Green Flash). Excellent Beers.
For something completely different Maui Brewing Company has started hitting our shores and their CoCoNut Porter is fantastic. I say this as someone who doesn’t like Coconut, nor fruit/anything-other-than-hops-malt-water-yeast in my beer.
Closer to your turf, Allagash is killer. That would round out my top three (Green Flash, Stone and Allagash).
My boss brews, and has a blog if you’re interested. Among other things he runs around the state (CA) interviewing brewers: Beer Obsessed
Punchy
Thanks, Tim, for the FBB! I’m currently drinking a Mike’s Hard Mango Punch. Does that qualify as an pale ale?
Tim F.
If I was there I’d mock you so hard it would leave a bruise.
Punchy
@Tim F.: Fiiiiiiine (whiny voice)…..I’ve moved onto (I’m not making this up) Bitch Creek by Grand Teton Brewing. Tastes like neither a bitch nor a creek. I suspect I will later move to a Pabst.
Dork
Still the best “pretend we’re a micro even though we sell it everywhere” beer is Anchor Steam.
Dont even waste the glucose typing a rebuttal.
Edit: Punchy drinking punch? Anyone see the irony/call for help? Everything will be OK, buddy. Just put the yellow bottle down and reach for the brown one.
Gus
I don’t know much about this stuff, but I’m guessing that Bell’s must use a ton of Cascades in their delicious Two Hearted Ale, and Surly must use a lot in their Furious Ale. They’re two of my favorites.
ninerdave
@Dork:
I actually toured Anchor a while back. Ton of fun. You’d think with it being so ubiquitous think it would be a huge place. In reality, it’s not they only have four brew kettles (granted they’re big) but…still. I expected a lot more (also granted, I’ve never toured a brewery before so I don’t have much to compare it too).
Surprisingly to me, they also make a whiskies and gins as well as Wine under the York Creek label.
Best part of the tour of course, was the all you could drink tasting at the end.
b-psycho
@Comrade Stuck: …12percent? Do they still sell those? All I’ve seen is the Cooper’s ones, don’t think any of those go above 6. I’ve been curious about getting into homebrewing, figured something like that’d be a first step.
ninerdave
@b-psycho:
A lot of Belgian style ales, and Barley Wines go to 12% and beyond.
Wag
Fritz Maytag, owner of Anchor is without a doubt one of the father’s of the rebirth of American craft.brewing, back around 1980 Achie Steam was the only truly unique American beer. We wouldn’t be having this conversation without him (and Charlie Papazian, father of home brewing).
All hail Fritz!!!! All hail Charlie!!!
b-psycho
@ninerdave: I meant the kits. I’ve had beer that strong before, big fan of Imperial Stouts actually.
Wag
BTW, my favorite beers for taking to the pool (no glass allowed) have to be Dale’s Pale Ale, a hugh Pale Ale available only in cans, and Fat Tire in a can.
Canned beer has gotten a bad rap. I like to think of cans as mini kegs…
El Caballo de Sangre
Bell’s Two Hearted on tap is maybe the best beer I’ve ever tasted. This year’s IPA from my hometown’s Columbus Brewing Co. is fantastic also – very grapefruity, but not grapefruit-juicy. But then again, I’m a hop freak that prefers a hop character that skews citrusy rather than piney-herbal.
But notice I said the Bell’s is the best beer I’ve ever tasted, rather than the “best” beer – this is why I pop up sometimes in these beer-snob threads to reiterate that it’s really idiotic to say anything other than “Hey, I tried a new beer and my buddy liked it but I didn’t really. YMMV.” I’m sure there are some “good” stouts, but all of them taste to me like somebody carbonated yesterday’s burnt coffee. Am I right? Who gives a fuck? Drink what you like – even you, Punchy.
Ripley
Nice to see a beer thread here; wallering in the sludge of politics makes me want one or more. Okay, seven.
Regional recs from a pikey:
Great: River Horse Hop Hazard American Pale Ale. A bitterness that slaps and tickles; from New Jersey, ‘a course.
Good but gone: Portland Ale, from that beery city in the northwest. One of the early craft brewing revival favorites; they trot out a ‘commemorative edition’ periodically. Weak in the knees compared to current stuff, but desirable after all these years, and beers. Think ‘first best girlfriend.’
Weird: Bert Grant’s IPA, from rural Washington state. Nothing like an IPA at all, not like any beer I’ve ever had (except maybe an obscure German hefe on tap); grossly maligned, strange for certain, but adorable, like a disabled pet.
Toxic: Iron City Premium Lager, from otherwise awesome Pittsburgh, PA (um, go Pens). Named for the chunk of slag iron they must toss into every can or bottle, mmm, rusty stuff. They even make a light version. Guess they use tin in that.
Er, way to go Pens.
Seitz
I’ve been drinking a lot of the Bell’s Two Hearted lately. Just recently I picked up a nice foursome of the Bell’s TH, Three Floyd’s Alpha King, Dogfish Head 90 minute, and just to break it up, the Magic Hat #9, which I really love. I don’t know what sort of distribution the Three Floyds stuff gets outside of Chicago, but the Alpha King is a phenomenal IPA style beer.
I’ve got to give some props to the Sierra Nevada Torpedo as well. I think it stands up to the others I just mentioned, even though it’s from a macro-micro.
I’d also suggest, if you can get your hands on it, the Two Brothers Cain and Ebel. It’s a great rye.
yam
For all you Twin City folks, Town Hall Brewery is starting a collection of beers that are hopped with only one hop. On tap now is the Cascade, made with, uh, Cascade hops. Amarillo Ale is coming next. Get some now before they run out.
Mike Hoops is a genius brewer and to taste what one hop is like in a beer is a real treat. This is gonna be a fun summer…
Colette
Yo Timmy, blunk drogging again? Verbs are your friends, amigo.
I second the love for Bell’s Two Hearted, but my heart belongs to our own local Anchor Steam. I think it really does taste better within a mile or two of the brewery – I’ve ordered it when back East and it just wasn’t the same. Red Tail Ale from Mendocino is also an entirely honorable macro-microbrew with the characteristic Cascade fruitiness and a nice bitter finish.
And for the Worst. Beer. Ever., I nominate Yuengling, the tipple of my misspent college years in eastern PA. Blech, with blech sauce. Genesee Cream Ale only gets a Dishonorable Mention, as I never actually got sick on the stuff.
Ripley
@Colette: Ah, Yuengling; I’d mentally suppressed that one. Headache juice with an acid reflux finish. Cool old brewery, though, in (appropriately enough) Pottsville, PA. Go Maroons!
monolinguist
I know no other language, but my Slovakian friend has taught me that is cheers in Slovak. Nostrovia!
BretH
A humble suggestion from a Vermonter turned Charlottesvillian: Starr Hill Pale Ale. My wife has avoided beer for ages and she really likes this one.
Probable can’t get it too far away from Charlottesville, though.
Patrick
I don’t believe that Cascade hops are not used by most brewers for base bitterness because they “taste funny”. They do have a distinctive taste, but that is part of an American IPA.
Brewers use other, higher bitterness, hops because it is cheaper. If Cascade are 4.6% bitterness, and Liberty is 9.2%, then you would have to buy and use twice as much Cascade as Liberty to effect the same bitterness. Using hops early on, in the boil, adds the most bitterness, but kills almost all hop flavor. So, it makes total economic sense to use high bitterness, regardless of taste, hops early. It has nothing to do with the flavor of Cascade, since any such flavor would be destroyed.
Long Trail is usually cheaper, and is a good buy in the NE when your other choices are Yuengling and various lagers. Magic Hat’s HIPA and Lucky Kat are superior IPA type beers from Vermont.
But then I like the “drinking grass” IPAs that have been coming out. Southern Tier IPA, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, etc.
steve davis
Try Gonzo Imperial Porter, or their Barley Wine. It pretty much shreds any competition that I’ve found in the supermarket.
Comrade Stuck
@b-psycho:
If I remember correctly, when the instructions said add X amount of sugar, I added XXX and X for good measure, just to be sure.
Doctor Science
Yuengling’s regular lager is pretty poor, it’s true, but Yuengling Black and Tan is my budget brew of choice. It’s not very good on an absolute scale, but compared to what else I can get for the price (approx $5/6), it’s *fabulous*.
mutt
Well…..Im an ale drinker. I cant GET any- just various yuppie sissy brews. Stone Pale Ale? Puhleese.
Ballantine Ale- mass produced Ballentine Ale- is friggin ALE. & hier India Pale, seasonal, back when, was the real bitter deal. The rest is like pickup trucks since the mid 70’s- sissified, sweet, cloying, larded down with extras, crap.
Do they still MAKE Ballentine Ale? Living in the ghastly Tommorrowland that is SoCal, I aint seen any in ages. East Coast, I guess….
Blake
Ninkasi brewing’s Total Domination IPA is my new favoritest beer ever! Dunno if you can find it anywhere East of here (I’m in Seattle), but if you ever find it in your local shop, grab several!
The Selfridge Merrys
Mutt,
They still make Ballantine, and it still sucks.
I never understand how people deride craft beers as “sissy brews.” I assure you that Stone brews stuff with many times the hops (and alcohol) as Ballantine.
Ripley
@Doctor Science: Not in disagreement with you there. I think I just drank so much of the heavily-marketed Yuengling Lager when I first moved to PA (I tend to overdo the regional brews after a move) that its limitations became all too clear. The three-day hangovers were a big clue. I used to buy the Premium (‘what the Pottsville locals drink,’ I was assured) six-pack cans for camping and whatnot; okay budget stuff, like the Black and Tan. Their Lord Chesterfield Ale, though? Liquid sickness by any standard.
Amends: Great PA beers: Appalachian Brewing, Harrisburg (Hop Devil IPA); Troegs, Harrisburg (hit or miss, but some quality to be found); Penn Brewing, Pitt (the Penn Dark, very drinkable); Selinsgrove Brewing, town of the same name, on the Susquehanna; and hands down my favorite brew pub in PA, The Church Brew Works in Pitt – great beer, in a remodeled church; it’s sacrireligiolicious!
The Golux
I was about to pick a nit over “nostrovia”, but a bit of searching shows that it’s a fairly common Americanization of “for health” in one of the Slavic languages. Being married to the child of Polish immigrants, I’m most familiar with “na zdrowie”, which is the same as Czech or Russian except for variations in spelling. They all sound pretty much like “nostrovia”.
Here endeth today’s lesson.
tom.a
@Colette:
If you want to take one giant leap DOWN from Genesee Cream Ale try Genesee Bock (if it’s even around anymore). It was a seasonal that came in a green can with goat heads and daisies on it and tasted vaguely of the two combined in a blender. I was always indifferent to Yuengling, not all that good but not all that bad either (you get what you pay for). Alas, I’m now on the west coast where good beer is a plenty.