Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
If you had asked me to name a state that I would NEVER get during this challenge, South Dakota would have been near the top of the list. But now it is cleared, thanks to the Beer Bloggers Conference and Dale Miskimins who brought it to Boulder. Here is my review of Crow Peak and their IPA.
A brewery that I had not heard of before is making quite the interwebs buzz. Buzzards Bay from Massachussetts has created a serialized beer with a mystery on the label.
““The Case of the IPA” is a hard-boiled detective farce printed chapter by chapter on 12 bottles of a newly released India Pale Ale. Each 22 ounce bottle not only has 22 ounces of brilliantly deduced IPA, but also 1 of the 12 chapters of the story. Each case has 12 bottles, which makes for the entire tale told in a case. And so, the Case of the IPA is indeed a case of the IPA.
Brewer Harry Smith proposed the idea to author Paul Goodchild and they quickly agreed on a format: a noir-ish detective serial. Smith brewed up a batch of hoppy craft brew whilst Goodchild penned the story. It’s a mystery of zany brewers and their intrigues; sure to tickle the ribs and please the belly of any fan of craft beer.”
And here is the first installment (not the beer, the mystery):
I love quirky ideas that grow big, and one of these is the dog friendly Lucky Labrador.
They have taken it a step further by having a IPA made with a bunch of different hop varietals and calling it MUTT. Brilliant in my book. They grow hops at a couple (maybe more now) of their locations and get more from friends of the brewery and it becomes this communal hop pickin’ party that ends up in a brilliant IPA a few months after.
Cigar City. Widely desired by 49 states which normally can’t get any of their products. They have gone and intrigued me mightily with a new version of their popular Jai Alai IPA but aged in white oak.
We dip back into New Zealand to look at an organic brewery by the name of Mike’s. I like that they celebrate both mom and dad. (Some organics forget the male of the gender) “mike’s is committed to offering you the very best quality organic beer that we can produce. Joining us are mother nature, who supplies all of the ingredients, and father time, who matures the beer for us.”
Their IPA sounds like a bitter treat:
“Inspired by the hoppy English pale ales but leaning toward the highly hopped American variety. Pours rich golden amber with a faint haze and a creamy white head settling to a fine veil. The aroma is complex with tropical fruit including passion fruit, pineapple and melons all vying for attention.
The flavour is something to behold, with the sweet tropical fruits now balanced out by the strong biscuity malt flavour and absolutely intense hop bitterness. The very full mouth feel and glowing warm aftertaste serve to further keep the hop bitterness in check.
This is an extremely hoppy beer, if the drinker is not partial to hops, they might struggle with this drop. For the true hop heads, this is nectar to be savoured.
Serve chilled in small stemmed goblets, to be sipped on cool Autumn evenings. This beer needs to be treated with respect, weighing in at 9.0% ABV, it’s no lightweight and should be shared with good company.”
I’m a little over the pun riddled “hoppy” beer names and have moved on to more elegant solutions to the beer name conundrum. Don’t get me wrong. I am not going all snobby on you fine blog readers. It’s like watching a regular heist movie and then seeing the current hit Inception. The first can be well done but the latter has more layers and some nuance behind it.
And so does the beer I feature today Proper Job from St. Austell’s:
“Brewed with Cornish spring water, malt from locally grown Maris Otter barley and boasting a true west country name, at 5.5% ABV Proper Job is a perfect accompaniment to chicken, fish & cheese.Light, clear and refreshing with an assertive hop bitterness, Proper Job IPA is based on a traditional IPA recipe which makes it perfect for long, hot summer days.”
The term has a charged history dealing with the British Empire and “closing the deal” so to speak. As with most history, there are heroic aspects and poor choices, and that’s what makes this a great British beer name.
The name comes from
Hey beer lovers!
I am big on educating yourself in not only different beer styles but also in the building blocks of beer. So each time my local, Eagle Rock Brewery does a new beer education class, I get excited. I have attended these classes so I know they are done well.
“We are super excited to announce that our next beer class is all about IPAs, the perfect summer beverage. Yes – hopheads unite! The class will take place in the Eagle Rock Brewery taproom on Tuesday 8/24/10 from 7pm to 9pm. As usual, the taproom will be open at 6p for those registered in the class to come in to pickup the course materials and enjoy a pre-class beer. Cost will be $30 per person. Register at our online store.
Class registration is non-refundable so please do not register for the class until you are absolutely certain that you will be able to attend. No exceptions will be made. The registration does not include a guest, so please do not bring guests with you and expect that they will be able to stay. All of our classes have sold out and space and class resources are limited, so as a courtesy to everyone involved, no exceptions please.”
Do you know of a university with a namesake beer? Now you do. It’s Portland State.
PSU IPA is less bitter than most India pale ales with hints of chocolate and coffee.
“Rogue Ales founder Jack Joyce said the university agreed to let him brew the Portland State brand to honor the university’s commitment to sustainable practices that are part of his company’s culture.”
TODAY: England V. Germany
No one would have thought this would have been possible. A titanic clash in the 2nd round. Can Germany regain the flair of game 1? Can England find the scoring that came so easily in qualifying?
Since this will be a battle, I have selected an appropriate beer. Bengal Lancer from Fullers. According to the fantastic Jeff Evans (if you don’t have one of his books, you are not a true beer geek).. “To my mind, Bengal Lancer sensibly marries a high score on the hop register with excellent drinkability. Bundles of Golding, Fuggle and Target hops present a resin-like bite and dry the palate, bringing tropical fruit and lemon jelly flavours to complement sweet, biscuity malt.
A little peppery warmth reminds you that this is not exactly a quaffing beer, but the way the leafy hops and their tangy fruit dominate the very dry finish means that you’re hardly likely to bolt the glass anyway. In short, it’s a solid, satisfying beer with bags of character.
The number of serious, grown-up IPAs available in the UK is increasing every day. Fuller’s latest take on the style is one of the best.”
