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One of the coolest items that caught my eye while reading Tasting Whiskey was this photo. Yup, whiskey with hops in them. Now they aren’t part of the regular whiskey line-up from Corsair Distillery but if you can find these rare bottles or their new whiskey, Rasputin that is made from the base of a Russian Imperial Stout then I suggest giving it a try. It really shows how much beer is a part of whiskey.
Is there a song playing in your head after seeing that post title? Blame New Belgium, not me.
And yes, this is another addition to the increasingly crowded SIPA category. But I do like the Couch car on the label so maybe they can be forgiven. Depends on the hops.
After years of bitterness, why are IPA’s the undisputed style king with the most entrants at the Great American Beer Festival and probably the most brewery best-sellers and flagship brews?
Will the IPA bubble burst? Or will the popularity just keep skyrocketing?
My palate thinks not and for a few divergent reasons.
First the style is less a cul-de-sac and more a round-about. IPA’s, the regular plain kind may very well be played out but into the breach steps Session IPA’s. When that phase ends the Black or White IPA finds new life. Then there are the Coffee IPA’s the fruit and spicy IPA’s. The doubles and triples and Imperials. Single Hop, Fresh Hop. The list goes on. That’s not counting IPL’s (substituting lager for ale) or hoppy saisons.
So when Cascadian Dark’s become passé a new sub-style pops up. Like a game of whack-a-mole. And that leads me to my next reason why IPA’s seem never ending.
New hop varietals. Citra begets Mosaic begets Mandarina begets New-Mexicanus. The hop pipeline doesn’t appear in danger of running dry. Once a hop becomes hip, it gets plugged into all of the above categories and the race is run anew.
The third reason behind the popularity is that the growth of craft beer keeps bringing new converts into the fold. At a pace, I believe, that is much greater than current fans growing tired of hop bombs. Now, I don’t have any concrete statistics on this but I buy less IPA’s each year but if the people jumping on the bandwagon (a good thing) are buying more then there is no chance for disenchantment to set in. A backlash can’t form when the members of the backlash are always in a minority.
I will add a fourth idea to the mix as well. Regional differences. The IPA’s of Portland, Oregon are not similar to San Diego and San Diego is not similar to Fort Collins. Let alone bridging the gap between East Coast vs. West Coast palates. So, if one tires of Palate Wrecker, you have multiple others with different flavor profiles to choose from.
Does that mean that IPA’s will be king of the castle forever? No. Beer history is littered with the rise and fall of styles all over the world. But it may take longer than most pundits believe. Including myself.
Bitter: A Taste of the World’s Most Dangerous Flavor is not the typical read for me. I was hoping for a biography of sorts of bitterness. I wanted to understand why the bitterness of hops is so appealing to me (as is citrus) whereas vegetables like broccoli or Brussel Sprouts are major turn offs in aroma and taste.
What the book is, is mostly recipes. Some intriguing like Beer Jelly and others with ingredients that I would rather leave out of my kitchen. There is information of both historical and cooking types inside the covers but it is more of an aside and less the main thrust of the tale. Case in point: An excellent two pages on how sound affects eating pleasure. It was intelligent to point out how airplane sound is one if the reasons that food a mile high is unappetizing. The photography though is amazing. Simple but detailed. Close enough to really see the items on display and well staged.
Jennifer McLagan is an engaging writer whose personality shines through and I did learn about entemological backgrounds of grapefruit and other foods but I just did not get enough to reach the level of what I desired to learn.
Perhaps there is another book out there on this taste.
When you get a WOW! beer. You just can’t get enough. I review many beers on this blog but very few make me go WOW! Off Leash from Crux Fermentation Project is such a beer.
A mega amount of Belgian Farmhouse funk is here but it doesn’t overwhelm like it can. Why? The hops are right there. Fruit and mango and pineapple in abundance. Then there is a spice note that is just as strong. And yet, it works. Despite having three major competitive forces. Which is usually a death knell for a beer.
This beer makes me want to find any other beer with a combination of Crystal, Citra and Centennial hops.
I am a cat person but the dogs and bones on this label might change me. The beer is that good.
And since, Off Leash was so good, the next night I uncapped the Outcast IPA in search of another hop experience and I got it. A notch or two below but since that is in comparison to a WOW! beer that is still pretty darn good. Lots of grape notes here. Almost Concord-y in intensity. The bitterness is a lighter shade to my overworked palate but it is still a zippy beer. The Galaxy hops come through with flavor and aroma and the bitterness doesn’t fight the malt but work as an undercurrent to it.
Both beers show a deft touch for balancing flavors and I wish I had bought more. ‘Cause I got no bottles left.
The name tells you all you need to know. Which is why it is so long. This is the 4th of a 5 beer series from Sierra Nevada. This and the Wild Hop beer being the ones that caught my attention.
What I liked about the Wet Hop is the simplicity of the ingredients:
That is it. And boy does it impart flavor. This IPA is half danky earth and the other half is straight up Orange juice. It really struck me at first the power of the flavors. The aroma is reminiscent to me of orange juice that is sitting on the table with breakfast. I know it sounds weird but that is what was triggered in my mind.
This is a super bitter beer too. From first sip to aftertaste, there is a vegetal earthiness that just sticks to the palate and will not let go. This from a beer that was bottled at the end of September. I can’t imagine the IBU punch on a fresh bottle! But as much as it is bitter that juice note doesn’t give up either. I would probably call this a Double IPA taste wise even though the ABV is only at 6.7%
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was so last month with their Beer Camp. I know but they also have a 2nd year ace up their sleeve in the Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild® Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 18, at its brewery in Chico, California.
Close to 50 breweries will bring beer(s) that fit into one of four categories:
Tickets go on sale today and will set you back $75. But like the Firestone Invitational, this is the type of event that is worth it and is frankly on my bucket list as well. Especially if you are one of the hop fiends out there.
Whilst wandering through my Trader Joe’s, I stopped at the “orphan” bottles and cans section of the beer aisle and I saw a “classic” Stone IPA right next to the newer Go To Session IPA. Immediately, I thought, it was time for a taste test. How did the two compare. Is there a stylistic shift or are they just variations on a theme?
Classic IPA
Pours clear and fizzy orange. Compared to the Go To, it has less head to it. Pine/woodsy aroma and a strong punch of bitterness. There is some notes of citrus and fruit punch in there as well which fades as the beer warms and more of a spicy rye quality becomes more evident. A bit too astringent for me after a strong start.
Go To Session IPA
Pours a hazy yellow color. Oddly no “enjoy by” date on this bottle. Lighter tangerine aroma here. Much softer and a little more floral/ soapy notes here. Both have lingering hop presence to them. Just that this fades out quicker. A little watery as well.
Verdict – Neither have much malt presence to them. My preference for lighter hands on IPAs leads me to Go To but in the end the harshness of the Classic loses the battle more than Go To wins it.
I will be reviewing ALL 13 of the special Sierra Nevada Beer Camp collaborations this month. And this is the 13th or 1st of the 2014 Beer Camp Across America beers. It is also Not in the Box / Not a Collaboration. Simply a 24oz bottle of West Coast Hop-itude.
The aroma is dank with a touch of cat pee (which I seem to be able to pick up where others don’t) and a bit of citrus peel. The bitterness is there for sure and it sticks around so it certainly is in range of the amorphous DIPA style guideline. The flavor is a mixture of woodsy, which is the dominant component and tropical fruit which is the back-up singer in this equation. This is a straightforward beer. No bells or whistles. Almost like a single-hop beer to a certain extent. Juicy tasting but with plenty of hops to satiate the hop thirsty crowds.
Of the now 5 beers that I have tasted, this would be closer to the bottom. Not because it is bad, just because the others one’s were more unique and complex.
Even translated to bottles, the design of Modern Times is still striking. And despite the Session IPA moniker or hoppy XPA, as I call them, this was a beer high on my want list.
For two reasons: I wanted to know how the brewery was growing. Could the quality stay high? Secondly, I was intrigued by two of the hops being showcased. Hallertauer Blanc and Experimental 05256.
And this beer delivers. Very similar to Easy Jack from Firestone Walker but with a drier white wine finish to it. There is a bit of unripe melon in the mix as well. The bitterness really lingers but not in an overbearing way. As it warms, a little bit of astringent lemon.
I still think that Fortunate Islands is my favorite but this is up there. When next I am in San Diego, I will have to explore the beer list at their Fermentorium.