Block 15 Corvallis, Oregon brings us an IPA with not only the traditional spruce tips but also fir tips, oh and orange peel too…
Holiday Beer # 28 – Froth Bite from Alvarado Street
Best use a gloved hand to grasp the can for this “yeast driven” IPA from Alvarado Street, you don’t want to have the can stick to your hand.
Holiday Beer # 24 – 60 Below from Surly
Granted, 60 Below from Surly is probably more Halloween or Game of Thrones or even Terminator than Christmas, but for snow starved Californian’s, this IPA still qualifies for the season…
Holiday Beer # 22 – Hoppy Holidays from NoDa
Staying in southern climes and in the same IPA style we head to NoDa Brewing Co. for their Happy and Hoppy Holidays.
I prefer the Mrs. Claus can.
Holiday Beer # 21 – Island of Misfits from Red Hare
Georgia is Santa’s next stop for some southern IPA that is surely not a misfit for the current popular style, Island of Misfits from Red Hare.
Random Brewery Tour # 1 – Lord Hobo
The first “random” brewery tour for December is one that might be sending some of their NE IPA our way. Saw a job posting for a sales manager for Lord Hobo on the West Coast.
Massachusetts brewed for both “Lords and Hobo’s alike, we all deserve to drink like royalty.” Here are the four cans that I would drink from a regal chair or couch.
Steal This Can IPA
“This West-Coast inspired IPA features 4 notable hop varieties to produce poignant citrus notes with pine and hop bitterness. A malt bill that includes Pilsner malts and American Red Wheat gives this IPA a healthy mouth feel.”
Consolation Prize Double IPA
“A full-bodied Double IPA that glows a magnificent hazy orange. Heavily dry-hopped with Jarrylo, Azacca & Mosaic resulting in big notes of pineapple, mango, honeydew with a notable Pilsner malt backbone. Dangerously drinkable and surprisingly mellow.”
Glorious Galaxy Pale Ale
“This beautifully smooth New England-Style Pale Ale pours a hazy, straw color. A double-dose of sought-after Galaxy hops delivers a silky peach-grape aroma, tropical fruit flavors, and an elegant mouth feel.”
Hobo Life Session IPA
“Hobo Life Session IPA is heavily dry-hopped with Citra and rests on 20% flaked oats. Refreshing and bright with notes of lime and grapefruit zest to entertain the palate, Hobo Life is a go-to for any session.”
Featured Review – Vicious Mosquito IPA from Sunriver
After the great experience with the Cocoa Cow, I had to crack open the canned IPA from GABF winning Sunriver Brewing, Vicious Mosquito.
Pours a light orange color. Chilled is more dank. When it warms though this beer pops with tropical notes. Almost like two different beers. That hop bitterness bites on both sides but softens in the latter to make for a really interesting beer. Aroma is a bit woodsy. Combined with the excellent Parks & Wrecke DIPA that I had make Sunriver 3 for 3.
Two from MadeWest
I was beer shopping and finding quite a few new Artifex beers in the coolers when I thought I saw some beers that were upside down. My eyes were deceiving me though. Artifex’s logo is similar in font to Ventura’s MadeWest.
I ended up with a pale and IPA and now is the time to render a verdict. Which can would I buy again?
Pale Ale – Pours a clear and dark yellow. Aroma is very herbal and grassy. Nice dank bite with a spritz of carbonation at the start that rounds into a lovely peach note. That bitterness sticks to the side of the mouth long after the sip is over. Right at the end is a wheat toast note. The combination is nice if stronger than expected for a Pale Ale.
IPA – Pours an orange color. Aroma has a touch of citrus but somewhat mellow. Picking up grapefruit here in the flavor, it is predominant. More silky than the Pale Ale. Less dynamic in certain ways too.
I think the peach notes puts the Pale over the top. Or maybe I don’t cotton to hop 07270.
Re-Used Hops
Some may view the Jamesons Caskmates program as mere marketing but I think it is cool to go meta at times. And I like the idea of putting that super popular IPA style into a Jameson cask and then turning back around and putting Jameson back in once the IPA has been emptied.
The only question I have is, when will they do A hazy IPA cask?
Featured Review – Unity 2017
Time for the moment of truth, what is the review for the 2017 edition of Unity – The LABW beer.
This year hosted and bottled by El Segundo Brewing.
From the tap: the fruit added IPA pours a pretty clear and light orange color. I was wondering if this would be a fruit bomb or if the extra hoppy nature of ESBC would win the day. Turns out neither, really. It is for sure hoppy but it is approachable, dare I say lighter than the baseline for them. The citrus doesn’t come through as strong as I would think considering all the zesting the L.A. brewers did.
From the bottle: More citrus popped out in a few days old bottle. The orange peel bitterness was there, intermingling with the hops. The color is light and the beer is super easy to drink. 22oz is actually an OK size for this IPA.