Beer Review: Twin Oast Brewing’s “Humble Giant” Hazy Double IPA

Humblé Giant if you're French

Yesterday, while watching the truly magnificent Philadelphia Eagles barely beat the LA Rams in the NFL playoffs, I enjoyed a “Humble Giant” by Twin Oast. You can buy single cans of it from the Heinen’s near me. If you don’t live in Lakewood, Ohio, or don’t know what Heinen’s is, I’m not sure where you can buy one. The company is based out of Catawba Island, OH. Maybe try there. It’s not that far from Cleveland, about an hour’s drive, less if you’re going by boat.[1] This is the first of their beers that I’ve tried.[2] Apparently, an “oast” is a kiln used for drying hops. I'm not sure why they don’t just call it a kiln, but that’s what makes the English language a beautiful thing.

Twin Oast is a “microbrewery.” This isn’t an insult. The cans loudly proclaim that fact. They sport some sort of industry seal attesting to the fact. These sort of seals, often using the words “independent,” “local,” and/or microbrewery,” have been popping up on a lot of cans for the last few years. Part of the marketing efforts of the “Craft Beer Renaissance.”

However, I have to report the fact that the “Renaissance” is over. While craft beer is not going anywhere, it has entered its plateau, slow decline, and consolidation. Think like post-Trajan Rome.[3] Historians, at least super cool ones like me, will probably mark the height of the industry as somewhere in 2015-2016. In those years, it felt like anyone who had taken a college-level chemistry class and had access to a bit of funding was starting a microbrewery. Hell, Missoula, Montana, a town with a population of 71,000-ish, had like 10 microbreweries within its limits. You’d spit and hit a place selling a range of IPAs, double IPAs, Triple IPAs, and a stout to keep the weirdos happy. Some of them were good, some were bad, and many were just there.

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That’s sort of still the case. Grocery stores are still full of cases of sixers from local and semi-local breweries. But the decline has obviously started. Long-time small breweries with national reach like Anchor are being bought, sold, and in some cases, closed. For real microbreweries are shutting down, and fewer new ones are opening. Brands are consolidating and no longer offering sixteen different beers on tap, with multiple seasonal rotations, instead focusing on just a few stalwarts. Articles are being written on various platforms about how Gen Z’s don’t drink.

While some people have lost a lot of money and jobs because of this, at least, the endless jokes about “fruit-forward IPAs” have mostly stopped. Unless you’re listening to various right-wing masculinity podcasts. Hearing a joke about hipster IPAs at this point is like seeing a dinosaur. You’re more astounded at the blast from the past than anything else. Though come to think of it, “Jurassic Pulp” would be a great name for an orange-flavored wheat beer. Like a fancier Blue Moon.

This rise and fall is a pretty typical pattern in our economy. Nothing that particularly weird or sinister about it, beyond the usual economic malfeasances of the capitalist class. In fact, more than anything else, the really odd thing about microbreweries is how long the whole boom lasted. This isn’t to say that these places are inherently good or anything, just a bit of an outlier. Americans do love stuff that is bad for them after all.

The same thing happened with frozen yogurt places, though that decline was much, much quicker than microbreweries. Like the Carolingian Empire after Charlemagne died.[4] Poke places also went through a rapid expansion and then demise in the late 2010s. My guess is that the recent spurt of “sober bars,” will mostly be gone in the next two-three years. Capitalism loves to promote boom and bust cycles. It works like this. One thing, beers that aren’t Miller Lite, starts to attract increased consumer attention. Why it happens – could be either better marketing, flavor, or availability – doesn’t really matter. What counts is that people are buying more of it. People see a space to make a profit and jump on the bandwagon, hoping to ride the gravy train.[5] Eventually, too many people start riding that locomotive – yes, I understand the metaphor is beyond repair at this point – and it breaks down, leaving only a few cars – bars in this horrible and twisted analogy – shambling along. Sometimes the cycle comes back up in a few years, sometimes big corporate/private equity concerns come in and try to make money from the ashes, sometimes both. Whatever the case may be, you can guarantee that the boom will not last forever. That’s the nature of booms.[6]

For whatever reason – luck, time, location – Twin Oast is still cooking along. At least for now. Good for them. I don’t know anything about the company. Hopefully, the workers are unionized and have a good contract. Whatever the case may be, “Humble Giant” is a good beer.

Okay, now for the real review. For a double IPA that clocks in at a heavy 8.7% ABV, Humble Giant is surprisingly light. You get the typical bitterness of hops, but it’s not overwhelming, fading into the background and letting the rest of the beer speak for itself. It’s got a good mouthfeel, a light carbonation, and goes down easy. It’s got the color of a slightly brown orange juice, like pretty much every hazy IPA. If you’re not driving and over twenty-one years old, it’s worth a try. Even if you don’t like IPAs. In fact, the only annoying thing about this beer is the copy on the can. I do not want to read “the dormant Thiols of Citra Cryo and Nelson Sauvin hops radiate out in a fulmination of flavor,” while I am enjoying a brew. It sounds too close to something that I would write. Gag. Also, something that is dormant cannot radiate! That’s just like simple English my dudes.

Whatever. It’s a good beer. Great perhaps. Even if I have no idea what a “Thiol” is. Or the inclination to learn.

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[1] Why would you go by boat? Why not!

[2] If anyone from Twin Oast is reading this, I accept free beers. They will not affect my rating, but I will write about it.

[3] My first thought here was post-Vienna Ottoman Empire but that’s become a racist dogwhistle thing and who needs that in their life?

[4] Sorry. I’ll stop soon. I promise.

[5] Sure, some people also genuinely like brewing beer, but that’s secondary to the making money thing. If it was only about brewing good-tasting beer, they would just do that at home. No need to go through the hassle of starting a business.

[6] Just don’t tell the Costco Guys that. Or the Rizzler I guess. #brainrot.

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