Somehow, I’m still finishing up my beer exchange beers. This brew is not your typical winter beer. Which is timely, since last week’s weather was so mild. New Belgium’s Citradelic has a unique sweetness to it without losing the bitter hop flavors throughout. This brew is good for any season – pick up a six pack and try it out!
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I’ve been so busy drinking beer over the Holidays. It’s been tough. As I mentioned, my favorite time of the year is beer trades and exchanges. From my beer trade with Chicago, I tried the “Crank it Hop” IPA from Imperial Oak Brewing Company. From a grolwer, the suds still had great carbonation and I was able to complete the hard job of tasting 32 ounces of beer. Enough already…here are the notes.
ABV: 6%
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Transparent gold with white head
Aroma: Bitter and hoppy aroma with sweet citrus
Taste: Very sweet matly and caramel flavor in the front end. Follows with slight citrus flavors of orange and grapefruit and ends with strong hop finish.
Mouthfeel: Surprisingly smooth finish and buttery mouthfeel throughout.
Overall: Very well balanced IPA. It is a sweeter IPA than you typically expect when you think of the style, but the sweetness is pleasant. Smooth drink that was easy to finish even 32 ounces of.
ES Rating: 4.5/5 Suds
Endless Pairings
Cheese: Sweet fig goat cheese with toasted salty almonds and dried cranberries
Appetizer: Candied bacon!
Entree: Grilled barbecue chicken with sauteed green beans and sweet potato puree
Dessert: Caramel Cheesecake
Cigar: Alec Bradley American Sun Grown
YOWZA! Apparently the folks at Flying dog take all of their series very seriously. The heat series seeks to provide a brew with serious heat to it without destroying the taste of the beer. Some “hot” or spicy beers provide the heat that is promised, but the flavor of actual beer is gone. These beers typically end up in our chili. However, this particular brew provides the heat that is promised while also giving the sweet and refreshing taste of a peach IPA. You will break a sweat while drinking this refreshing brew – weird…right? Good sipping beer and makes for great conversation at a party.
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Light golden with good carbonation. Light head with off-white color.
Aroma: Sweet, sweet peaches with a hint of vanilla and very subtle hop aroma.
Mouthfeel: Crisp and light – typical feel of an IPA.
Taste: First, a sweet taste of straight-up peach juice with just enough of a hoppy taste to let you know that it is an IPA. Immediately following the first sip as the suds go down, heat hits the back of your throat. The heat lingers throughout the entire drink, but the sweet peach flavor continues with every sip.
Overall: The heat of the beer is not as overwhelming as a typical spicy beer – it is much more balanced and does not burn your tongue as some hot sauces do. The heat stays with you throughout the drink, but it does not take away from the peach flavor of the overall brew. You’l break a sweat, but the other flavors keep you wanting more!
ES Rating: 4/5 suds
Endless Pairings:
Cheese: Sweet Honey Goat Cheese with Blueberry Preserves
Appetizer: Bavarian Pretzel with Cheese Sauce
Entree: Grilled Sirloin with Green Beans and Twice Baked Potato
Dessert: Blueberry & Peach Cobbler served with Vanilla Ice Cream
Cigar: Nat Sherman Timeless
Sierra Nevada concludes their 2014 Harvest series with the Wild Hop IPA. Sierra Nevada went on a journey for the best wild hops around and crafted brews around what they found for these suds. The Neomexicanus “is the literal wild card” of the five bottle package with the hops’ unusual flavors. “Unusual” does not get the cravings going, but that’s why it is the wild card, right? Sierra Nevada introduces the brew with a teaser of melon, apricot, and citrus aromas in the beer coming from the hops. Here’s what we thought:
6.5% ABV
Flavor Profile:
Appearance: Hazy dark orange
Aroma: Heavy hops and subtle citrus and apricot.
Taste: Hop-forward flavor provide a pleasant bitterness for hopheads. Slight malty sweetness comes through complementing some citrus.
Mouthfeel: Dry finish with light aftertaste that does not linger.
Overall: This is a definite hophead pleaser. The hops begin and finish the beer nicely. First, the aroma hits hard with scents of being in a sweet hop garden. Then, we get some quick sweetness from the malts that are quickly cut by the pleasant hop bitterness of these WILD unusual hops.
ES Rating: 3.75/4 Suds!
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You may not know it, but it’s National IPA Day! Donut day, coffee day, ice cream day…why not have a day for those of us who take pride in the name “hophead”? Well today’s that day. Many consider the IPA (India Pale Ale) to be the brew that really made a name for craft beer. The IPA is a bold, typically strong in alcohol content, and bitter (in a good way) brew that includes strong notes of citrus. Regardless, today is a day to try an IPA for the first time, try out a crazy new IPA flavor, or crack open your favorite IPA. In the spirit of this wonderful holiday, we worked with some of the best breweries in the nation to bring your our “National IPA Day Roundup.”
Sierra Nevada 2014 Hop Harvest: 6.5 % ABV
Sierra Nevada brings out this annual 5-bottle series that features a single hop, wet hop, fresh hop, and wild hop brews. I had the Equinox Single Hop IPA. Single hop meaning they used only one kind of hop to highlight the aromas and the bitterness. The brew is an easy drink that will put you in the mood for fall. The IPA has typical hop flavors you would expect and then the taste of fresh peppers and spices from the garden comes through.
Next stop in Delaware: the Brew Pub. The Brew Pub is located in Rehoboth Beach, DE. While the pub serves some tasty foods, let’s be honest—it’s all about the beer. The Brew Pub is where Sam Caglione started the brewery. While the main “flagship” brews are made at the brewery in Milton, every beer starts as an experimental in the Brew Pub. This means that here you are likely trying a beer that you may never be able to have again. You are helping decide the fate of the precious suds we’ve all learned to love and enjoy.
When we visited, there were several rarities for us to try. The best bet is going with a flight and picking either the most outrageous brews available, or those that you’ve never had before. From there, you can decide which brews you’d like to have again and again before you leave the pub. While it is home of many rarities, it also has just about everyone of their seasonal and flagships. But you can get those just about anywhere. Go for the ones that you may never be able to get again. The brew pub also has signature beer cocktails that are worth a try.
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ATTENTION HOPHEADS: the most recent release of the Ruinten is out. If you like the aroma and flavor of a hop garden, this is your brew. Stone describes the craft beer as a dare to craft beer lovers, promising that drinkers ” brave enough to plunge headfirst into this glorious mosh pit will revel in a blend of abundant lemon, nectarine and pineapple notes found in the aroma.” The bomber-sized container of hop flavor carries a bitterness that will scare away the novice beer drinker. Hops take over throughout the entire drink, with subtleties of citrus and fruit lingering behind. Those of us who enjoy hop flavors, however, welcome the “dare to drink” attitude of the Ruinten IPA, the bold ABV, and the full flavor and feel of the brew.
I liken this beer to a Sylvester Stallone flick. If you go into the movies expecting an action-packed non-realistic film, you will be entertained. If you go in expecting a theatrical masterpiece full of drama, some comedy, and lot of words–you will be disappointed. The Ruinten IPA is not a balanced beer–it’s not supposed to be. Instead, it is in your face with hops in every way with a full feel and an ABV that will leave you quite relaxed out on the porch on a summer night. If you are expecting the “in your face” attitude from the brew, you won’t be disappointed. If you are expecting a light, balanced IPA with just as much malty sweetness as there is hop bitterness, you will be overwhelmed.
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