Archive for IPA Monday
Harpoon Imperial IPA (Leviathan Series)
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It’s hard to imagine the same brewery that came up with last night’s ho-hum Brown “Session Ale” could create such an in-your-face beer as tonight’s Imperial IPA from the Harpoon Leviathan series.
So instead of imagining, let’s trace how it happened.
Back in 2005 and with the help of guest brewers Jason and Todd Alstrom — the guys behind BeerAdvocate.com — Harpoon brewed a strong, dark wheat “wine style” ale called Triticus — part of their 100 barrel series.
Last summer, Triticus resurfaced when Harpoon released the big beer as the first of its new “Leviathan Series”. The Series is billed as “an exploration in brewing big beers for adventurous palates” and an excuse to “experiment with stronger flavors and bigger beers”. They’re still limited release brews; each beer in the Leviathan Series will be brewed in 120 barrel batches.
Stone Ruination IPA
Posted by: | Comments“A liquid poem to the glory of the hop.”
– from the Ruination IPA bottle
IPA Monday, how I love you. You are attentive, appearing just as I need you most, always at the conclusion of the week’s first workday. But you never fail to light up my life by being both a reliable constant, and a constant surprise.
For example, take today’s amazing Double IPA from Stone Brewing Company — the Ruination IPA.
I expected — and received — an amazing hoppiness. But I did not expect the malt, or how the taste mixed with the hops to create a sort of herbal candy swirling through my mouth and clinging in flavored swaths to my gums.
The sensory excitement begins long before you taste the beer. The Ruination IPA bottle doesn’t have a label in the traditional sense — it’s screen printed, resulting in a rough, stubbled texture like a statue carved from stone. The feeling reminds me of running my hands along gargoyles atop Notre Dame de Paris — no accident on Stone’s part, I’m sure.
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
Posted by: | CommentsJust when I thought I couldn’t be surprised by another IPA, I found myself in the sights of a Torpedo.
Torpedo Extra IPA was released in January of this year as Sierra Nevada’s first change to its list of year-round brews (since the brewery started in 1980). There’s been a lot of discussion about Torpedo in the beer community, and now I know what all the fuss is about. This beer had a huge flavor!
The Torpedo poured from the bottle looking like any other IPA — a nice amber, mostly clear and bubbly, with a narrow but fluffy head. But the strong citrus aroma, like a fresh sliced grapefruit (and maybe a touch of pineapple) was the first sign of something unusual.
And the taste, Wow! Such a “green” flavor; like biting into a delicious, extremely bitter vine.
DFH 90 Minute IPA
Posted by: | CommentsWith all the talk of “stimulus” in the halls of Congress these days, I’d like to propose a recovery package of my own: Let’s make IPA Monday a national holiday.
If every American worker of legal drinking age could look forward to starting the workweek with an IPA, the resulting vigor and renewed enthusiasm would increase productivity and energize the economy.
“But Andy,” I hear you argue, “isn’t alcohol a depressant? How could a downer perk us up?”
Beer is a lot less depressing than the recent news coming out of Washington, DC. And since IPA Monday consists of one — and only one — bottle of IPA, the required moderation might just result in far less drinking than encouraged by the current stimulus package.
Finally, with such great brews as the 90 Minute Imperial IPA from Dogfish Head, instituting IPA Monday may be the only response capable of wide, bi-partisan support. And that, like the 90 Minute IPA, would truly be refreshing.
DFH 60 Minute IPA
Posted by: | CommentsOfficially, the “60 Minute” reference in the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA refers to the length of time the wort boils while hops are continuously added. It doesn’t refer to the elapsed time required for drinking the beer — it goes down far too easily to last a full hour.
The Dogfish Head motto is, “Off-centered ales, for off-centered people,” and perhaps that pairing is how they got me. Dogfish Head made one of the first craft ales that really knocked me back and made me pay attention to my beer. (That story will be saved for tomorrow.)
