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That super pink and super hoppy beer is back! Eagle Rock’s Hop a Feel is a partnership beer with the Keep a Breast Foundation. It is a pink session IPA brewed with Amarillo, Simcoe, and Cascade hops + BEETS to make it PINK!
$1 from each pint sold will be donated to the foundation starting on Tuesday, September 26 from 4 PM to 10 PM.
I had the opportunity last week to check out the space that Lincoln Beer Co. of Burbank calls home.
I spoke with Patrick Dunn, the head brewer about the brewery on an overcast day at their facility and taproom to come on Lima Street.
The space, as I have seen with the new set of breweries lately, has room for more tanks and fermenters which bodes well. A camper was parked in the warehouse space as well, the temporary home of brewery consultants who helped Dunn with the Pioneer brewing system (which was a struggle to get up and running correctly).
The brite tanks were, contrary to most breweries, tucked into the spacious cold box. A measure that has both pros and cons in my mind. Dunn and partner Ryan Lipson met in college and started home brewing and you know the story. All they needed was the funding to get started.
Now they await a CUP so that they can begin the taproom build out and get customers through the doors.
You will see a “homework” assignment and Beer of the Week over on Food GPS in the coming weeks.
Now onto the pair of beers tasted.
Honeysuckle session IPA was clean and crisp. A good option for those who want their hops and less ABV. It didn’t make me go wow, but for this early in the learning curve, it was done well.
Winter Fiesta is their Winter Warmer that combines the spice of habanero pepper with the soothing aroma and cooling of vanilla. I have a low pepper pain threshold but this mash-up, though hot, didn’t sear like other habanero beers that I have encountered.
Our second review stop with Green Flash is with Jibe Session IPA (the canned version).
As you can see this pours out so very clear. Tilted to yellow on the spectrum with a bit of orange peeking through. This beer starts out a bit tropical with some pineapple notes to it but then fades more into tangerine before passing the baton over to a wheat/grain taste that cohabitates with the bitter remainder of the hops.
It does taste both a little watery but also a little on the viscous side. How that is accomplished, I don’t know. The tangerine is good but I just wish it either chose more of that or more wheat notes. As it stands, it isn’t bad but I can see myself drinking it without noticing (which may be the point of Session IPA).
Session IPA’s are all the rage and at first it was easy to stand out but now that more players are in the low ABV IPA game, it makes it harder for the latecomers one of which is Down to Earth from 21st Amendment.
Despite my aversion to the grinning monkey on the can, here is my review of Down to Earth.
The initial aroma is a bit on the wine grape side for me. Like a white wine almost. There is a brief moment when you first sip that you think it might be too bitter for the style but then it drops off the proverbial cliff and lightens up considerably. It is still really hoppy and the malt base has left the building.
The Session IPA pours a dark orange when I expect something of a lighter hue. This beer is strong out of the gate but then falters from there on out. Some bitterness lingers for awhile after each sip. It doesn’t quite grow on me though. The lack of malt backbone really hinders this beer.
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.
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.
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.
Sierra Nevada is known for hops. Their pale ale spawned a million (seemingly) imitators. So, when I saw a 4-Way IPA box with their logo. I knew that I would be reviewing it for the blog. I chose the two least known / seen beers from the group. And we start with Nooner….
Since I am in the middle of two posts about my trip to all places Firestone Walker and since I just reviewed a lovely, light IPA from Kona Brewing I thought I would review another lovely, light IPA (Session, in this case) from FW.
This SIPA pours a very yellow color with loads of bubbles. Looks more like a sparkling cider than a beer once the head fades down. I get both fruit and wine notes along a skosh of cat pee in the aroma. But the taste is delightful. A mix of citrus notes. I get orange and lime and lemon all mixed up. There is a bit of wheat and light grain notes as well but this is a very light drink. It is not watery but it is quite close. It is bubbly and sparkles on the taste buds. The bottles are date stamped so make sure you get a fresh one otherwise I fear that it may not hold that bright note for too long. It has a bit of white wine character too as it warms up. Delicious all the way through.
I know that the common perception is that if you write something positive about a brewery then you are just a shill and not a shrewd critical thinker that the brewing industry needs. But when I get a press release from Firestone Walker about a new beer, even one that is jumping on the good ship SIPA, I want to let people know about it.
Simply because they brew damn fine beer and without having a single sip of Easy Jack…
…their new Session IPA, I know that it will be above average (at least). If not awesome. And I can tell that by both past performance and by the notes that Brewmaster Matt Brynildson put together just on the hops used. Read on…
Bavarian Mandarina – Germany
“It’s real orangy, zesty, like a fresh orange off the tree, which I’ve never smelled in any hop before.”
Hallertau Melon – Germany
“As the name suggests, it has this melony, ripe tropical fruit characteristic that complements the citrus of the other hops.”
Mosaic – United States
“It’s a daughter of the Simcoe hop, which is in our Union Jack. It has a nice tropical vibe, with herbal and pine notes.”
Blend of New Zealand Hops
“We are using a blend of New Zealand hops to create this huge Sauvignon Blanc character, with a classic Sauv Blanc racy, steely fruit profile.”
Those notes make me want to try single hop beers of the first two (is it bragging to say that I have had an excellent Mosaic from Ninkasi?)