I know I sound like an old guy but I won’t even ever try this beer. I’d sometimes grab a sixer of Summerfest on the way to the pool or BBQ.
My next planned brew is a Summer Ale. It might not hit SN level of Summerfest excellence but I plan for it to be awesome. [emoji23]
Can’t say I’m surprised. Can’t find a lot of my favorites anymore. Even with my young experience in craft beer, I’m the old guy. Started in 2010. If it ain’t hazy, the new kids on the block don’t want it [emoji28] (can I get some Tumbler, please!)
Bummer. I always enjoyed Summerfest. Maybe they will bring it back in the future.
It’s odd that this “session IPA” has both less alcohol and lower IBUs than their APA (which by the way is almost the only domestic beer I ever purchase). I guess the counterargument would be that it has, supposedly, hop flavor and aroma that is more on par with an IPA.
I do enjoy their Hazy Little Thing IPA, though it does sometimes cross over into that sweaty gym sock flavor.
I’m very curious to try Summer Break. Sounds interesting to me.
Sorry to see Summerfest go, it was pretty decent.
I personally feel the hazy thing is a gimmick that is going to play itself out to a degree. I’m not the one to question SN’s marketing but this seems a year too late. With Summerfest they seemed to have a perennial winner. Maybe I’m wrong.
Bought a lot of Summerfest last summer when my own lagers ran out. Damnit, more Bells Lager of the lakes this summer, when my homebrew runs out.
I like Summerfest. I don’t like hazy or session IPAs. I think a beer with a lot of hop flavor and aroma needs a bitter backbone.
I’ll just have to make sure my lagers don’t run out!
All the mass produced hazy beers use Tanal A anyway, I’m sure of it. If you are making a beer hazy with tannic acid just “because” seems like that defeats the purpose. It’s just a gimmick.
Hazies are a gimmick? When did Heady Topper come out?
Now Summer Break might be a lousy beer, who knows, but I can’t see Hazy/NEIPA’s going anywhere anytime soon.
Funny thing about Heady, this was not their intention with that beer [emoji1787] I can’t remember the interview that was from. I’m sure I can find it. The hazy was a side effect and that’s why they wanted you to drink it from the can, not a glass.
When they are mass produced just to have haze? Absolutely. Read my post just above the one of your’s I just quoted. Ever hear of Miller Clear?
Never heard of it, but then again I haven’t had anything “Miller” in over 30 years.
Of course anything “fake” is a gimmick, but my point is that if a style has been around long enough (relative) and remains popular (also relative), it is no longer a gimmick. I’m talking about well made craft hazies. I’m not sure if you are actually arguing against that or not.
I don’t recon I was clear – it’s a gimmick when the haze is induced by tannins simnply because people expecy or seek after “haze”. Of course, I guess the same thing could be said about inducing a permanent haze in a hefe-weizen.
Regardless, I like Heady Topper and I have brewed a few hazy IPAs commercially. They aren’t easy to brew and kudos to those who brew them well. But if I was going to do a mass produced one that shipped regionally in cans I’d induce the haze with Tanal A so that it could remain hazy and shelf stable.
Are you saying that SN is discontinuing Summerfest or just the hazy version? I used to love Sierra Nevada’s Pale Bock seasonal, which morphed into Glissade Golden Bock before being discontinued. Now, they are discontinuing their summer lager? My guess is that the next product they discontinue will be their Pale Ale. What is their new focus? What I have noticed because I cannot stand the smell of the compound is that most new ales tend to hopped with hops varieties that contain high levels of 4MMP. That compound may smell dank or like black currant, pine, and assorted other aromas, but it smells like a well-used tom cat litter box. I can smell a beer made with Simcoe from a mile away because of its high level of 4MMP.
Near where I live is a very popular, but highly overrated, brewery. When you used to pour a can of their flagship hazy, at the very end of the pour, big chunks of flour would drop out. Apparently they were adding flour to the kettle to achieve the haze. It definitely worked, and the beer tasted good. But those gray chunks were gross.
But I don’t see a tremendous difference between adding Tanal A vs. adding sinamar or even a fining to a beer. In all cases you’re trying to achieve a visual result by adding a “non-beer” ingredient (yeah I know sinamar is derived from malt but hopefully you see my point). Or even adding 1 or 2oz. of roasted barley to the mash only to attain a deep red color.
As for gimmicky beer, the craft beer industry jumped that shark a while ago.
I guess, ya know, you could read the article I posted? 
And yes they are discontinuing the Summer lager. As stated in the article I posted.
Yeah the flour thing is gross. I know breweries that have done this as well. And you make some good points. I’m just grumpy that they are discontinuing a beer a like for basically 2 styles I don’t - I’m not a huge fan of the hazy beers (even though I sometimes enjoy them when brewed properly) but I disdain “Session” IPAs.
Hazy hoppy beers have been a thing for seven or eight years now and existed for a lot longer so I think we’re a little beyond calling them a gimmick. I do feel like we are starting to get on the backside of the fad now that we are finally seeing new west coast IPAs and APAs starting the show up. Like other craft beer fads I don’t think it will ever go away completely.