Mad River Steelhead Double IPA

I'm a sucker for colorful labels, so this one caught my eye. Since it was also a Double IPA, I figured I couldn't lose. As far as Double IPA's go, this one is relatively mild. It's from Mad River Brewing in Blue Lake, CA, and I've sampled a number of their beers over the past couple of years. The beer poured a cloudy amber color, and had plenty of yeast sediment in the bottom of the bottle. It's definitely maltier and higher alcohol than a standard IPA. The sweetness of the malt was offset by citrusy, piney hops. The finish was decidedly bitter with an alcohol kick. This was very enjoyable.

Saranac India Style Brown Ale

Tonight's beer is from Saranac's "12 Beers of Winter", which I picked up this past weekend. It's a brand new brew for F.X. Matt - India Style Brown Ale. I was looking forward to this cross between a brown ale and an IPA. It poured a medium brown color with a small cream-colored head. The head didn't last long, but did leave a nice lacing on the glass. Unfortunately, the brew was not as inspiring as I had hoped. It lacked the sweetness of a brown ale, and wasn't nearly as hoppy as I was anticipating. Admittedly, I am a hop-head, so it's impossible to put too much hop character in a beer. I think the folks at Saranac were a bit too cautious on this beer. I would have liked to see them emphasize the sweet nutty character of a brown ale, as well as the overt hoppiness of the IPA. I'm just going to have to brew my own version of this beer, once I have a fermenter free again.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2008

What better beer for New Years Day than a Celebration Ale from Sierra Nevada. I've tried numerous Sierra Nevada brews over the years, and they've never let me down. During the past holiday week, I picked up a six-pack of this ale while visiting some family members who don't have a dedicated beer/wine/mead fridge. Sierra Nevada brews this ale every year and it's won numerous awards. It's basically an IPA with a little more horsepower. It poured a clear copper color with an inch-tall head. The head diminished to about 1/4 of its original size, but lasted to the bottom of the glass, leaving plenty of frosty lacing. The first sip lets you know it's an IPA, with plenty of grapefruity "C' hops - Chinooks, Centennials, and Cascades. The 6.8 % alcohol level became apparent as I got closer to the bottom. The big hop presence was neatly offset by plenty of malt sweetness. Sierra Nevada is a talented brewery - Fritz Maytag knew what he was doing when he bought it way back when.

Brooklyn East India Pale Ale

Once again, pizza was on the menu last night, so I went to the fridge looking for an IPA. I found a bottle of The Brookly Brewery's East India Pale Ale. I'm not sure what difference the East makes, but that's OK. The bottle shows 2 different locations for The Brooklyn Brewery. One of them is Brooklyn, while the other indicates that the beer was brewed in Utica, NY. I take that to mean that it's a contract brew by F.X. Matt in Utica. The ale poured a medium amber with a decent sized white head. The nose is malt and grass, while the palate is slightly sweet malt with lots of piney hops. No grapefruit hops in this one, which is a welcome change. I like the citrusy hops, but for a while there, I began to think it was a requirement of an IPA. This is a good solid IPA, and reminded me of the Saranac version. This is only the 2nd beer I have sampled from The Brooklyn Brewery, and I'm totally satisfied.

Wyerbacher Hops Infusion India Pale Ale

I've heard good things about Weyerbacher Brewing Co. in Easton, PA, so when I saw this beer at Total Wines in Orlando, I immmediately added it to my mixed six-pack. According to their web-site, Hops Infusion is brewed with 7 different varieties of hops to give it complexity that's missing from other IPA's. I'm gonna blame it on my taste buds, because the only hop note that I pick up is pine. I was expecting some grapefruit flavor, but I didn't find it. Regardless, it's a good IPA. There's enough malt to back up the hops, and it had a nice piney bitter finish. It poured a medium amber with a pencil-thin white head. At 6.2 %, the alcohol level was right where I expected for an IPA. I'll be looking for some other Weyerbacher varieties the next time I find myself in the market for beer. Right now my fridge is full to overflowing, with beer waiting to be chilled. Don'tcha just hate it when that happens?!

Bloulder Beer Co. Hazed & Infused

Boulder Beer Company's "Hazed & Infused" is billed as a dry-hopped ale. It definitely falls into the category of a hoppy ale, somewhere in between an American Pale Ale and an India Pale Ale. Plenty of pine-flavored hops were used in brewing this beer. It's not as malty and sweet as many IPA's, so I would have to say it is closer to an APA. It poured a copper color with a healthy white head. The aroma was all hops. It has a medium body, plenty of carbonation, and just under 5% alcohol. I have had this beer in the past, and I remember it being more over-the-top hoppy. I don't know if this is a sign of the hop shortage, or just my aging tastebuds. It doesn't matter, it's still an excellent beer for hop-heads.

Saranac India Pale Ale

I decided to drink from my cheerful 50th birthday mug today. The beer is F.X. Matt's Saranac India Pale Ale, which was part of the Trail Mix assortment my sister brought me. She won't touch the India Pale Ale, so they just sit in her fridge. This is actually a pretty mild IPA, somewhere in between the Fiddler's Green and the Flying Dog Snake Dog. It's not as citrusy as some IPA's, although the bottle says that the hops are Cascades. It's more malty than the Fiddler's Green. and a bit higher in alcohol. It poured an orange-amber color, like most IPA's. This is a nice IPA, without being over the top.

Fiddler's Green India Pale Ale

Fiddler's Green Brewing Co. is from Utica, NY which made me suspicious. Sure enough, it's a contract brew made by FX Matt, brewers of the Saranac line of beers. This IPA poured an orangy-gold color with an inch-high white head. The aroma is essentially caramel malt and not much else. The first sip had a lot of citrus, presumably from the hops. The beer is somewhat fruity in general. This is a somewhat subdued IPA, but that's not a fault. It's very drinkable and enjoyable. This would be an excellent "training wheels" kind of IPA to get the uninitiated interested in IPA's. It won't scare them off like Flying Dog's Snake Dog might.

SURPRISE!!

Today started out as a pretty normal Sunday, except that my sister and brother-in-law are down from New York, on vacation. Being a good sister, she brought me some Saranac, and some beer from a brewery I was unfamiliar with - Otter Creek Brewing, which is in Vermont. We ate a late breakfast, and had plans to do an early dinner at my daughter's house, so my sister could see her niece's new home. I decided to go do some shopping, in preparation for my 50th birthday, which is coming up in a week, so my sister and her husband and I jumped in the car and took a ride. Our shopping trip ended just in time to get to my daughter's home at the designated time. I knocked on the door, and as I was let into the house - SURPRISE!! My family had thrown me a surprise birthday party for my 50th. I was floored! Totally clueless! I never suspected a thing. It was a great party, with good friends and family, lots of good food, and plenty of good beer. I was touched that they had planned this for me, and I had a great time. When I knew I would be just in time for "dinner", I asked my wife to bring one of the new Otter Creek beers with her to go along with my meal. So the first beer I had was Otter Creek's Stovepipe Porter, a roasty robust version of the style. I then switched to Flying Dog's Snake Dog - a very snappy, hoppy IPA. I cut myself off at 3 beers, so I picked a classic - Samuel Adams Boston Lager. I think this is one of the best lagers on the planet. The time flew by, the party ended, and I think everyone left smiling. I had a great early birthday! And now I know why my wife wanted me to get a haircut!

Lagunitas IPA India Pale Ale

Tonight was pizza night again, so I went to the fridge to find an IPA. Lagunitas has never let me down, so I pulled their IPA out from behind a bunch of other beers, and popped the top. It poured an orange-amber color with a small white head. The brewer describes this beer as "homicidally hoppy", which might be a slight exaggeration. There were plenty of hops to be sure, but I've had hoppier beers. The hops were perfectly balanced by just enough malt sweetness. This is a really solid IPA, although I can't put it in the same class as Dogfish Head's 60-Minute IPA. It went beautifully with my pizza, so I have no complaints.

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

Today was pizza day at lunch time, so I grabbed one of my preferred pizza beers to go along with it. An IPA is one of the few beers that doesn't get overwhelmed by the salty, spicy pizza. Flying Dog has a good IPA, called Snake Dog. It poured a medium amber color, with a 1 inch tall white head, that left plenty of lacing on the glass. There was lots of sweet malt flavor, balanced by a heaping helping of grapefruit-flavored Columbus hops from the West Coast. Snake Dog is a much tastier beer than their Tire Biter Golden Ale, but maybe I'm just biased.

Mr. Beer Homebrewed IPA - taste test

A couple of months ago, I was in CVS Pharmacy, and saw that they had a closeout bargain-basement price on their Mr Beer Premium kits. Since they were 1/3 of the usual price, I bought all they had - 3 for the price of 1. I only wanted the fermenters, since I had both of my current fermenters tied up with beer and mead. Mr Beer's cans of mix are kinda small, so I decided to use all 3 of them in 1 batch of beer. I'm an admitted hop-head, so I decided to brew my own version of a Mr Beer India Pale Ale. These ales, also known as IPA's, were originally created with higher alcohol and additional hopping to help preserve them when they were being shipped from England to India, back when India was a colony of Britain. I took all 3 cans of West Coast Pale Ale mix, and added 1 bag of booster. Here's the procedure I used:
I put 1 gallon of water in a pot and dissolved the bag of booster. I then brought it to a boil and added 1 ounce of Columbus hops. I boiled the hops for 45 minutes, then added the 3 cans of West Coast Pale Ale mix. Ten minutes later, I added 1/2 oz of Centennial hops, which I boiled for 5 more minutes. I then cooled it in an ice bath and added the wort to a gallon of cold water that I had poured into the fermenter. I topped the fermenter off to the 8.5 liter mark and added 2 packages of Mr Beer yeast. I had planned on using all 3, but one of them was leaking, so I decided it would be a bad idea to use it. I left it in the fermenter for 3 weeks, primed and bottled using corn sugar, and then left it to carbonate for 2 weeks.
Today was the 2 week mark, so I threw 1 in the fridge this morning, anxious to give it a taste. It is good! Many people who first use Mr Beer, mention a tangy flavor that they notice. This beer does not have that. I was a little concerned about using the booster and Mr Beer yeast, but my concern was unfounded. This is a very hoppy brew, with a little sweetness, and a slight hint of alcohol in the finish. I don't know what the alcohol percentage is, but it is enough to get a buzz after 16 oz. I am lousy at brewing lighter colored beers, but this one turned out lighter than I expected. This was a very worthwhile experiment!

Sleeman IPA 46

This IPA is another offering from the Sleeman Brewing assortment I picked up a few weeks ago. Since yesterday was a pizza day, I decided to try the IPA. This is a very subdued IPA, with less hop presence than a Sam Adams Boston Lager. Maybe that's the way they make IPA's in Canada, I don't know. I tried an Alexander Keith's IPA when I was in Newfoundland last year, and it was less hoppy than this one. I know that a traditional English IPA is less hoppy than the American variety, so I guess we just kick things up a notch here in the USA. If you're used to Dogfish Head IPA's or Victory's Hop Devil, or some of the other great American IPA's, this might be found lacking. I still enjoyed it.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

In my mind, there is no better beer to go with a real NY style pizza than an IPA. A good IPA is the only beer that can really stand up to a salty, spicy pizza. Pilsners and lagers are more popular, but they get lost in the sauce. Dogfish Head makes some of the best IPA's in the country, if you're a hop-head like me. Next time you have a pizza, try a Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA and see if I'm right.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute Imperial IPA

At $8.00 for a 12 oz bottle, Dogfish Head's 120 Minute Imperial IPA is a rare treat - at least in this house. Dogfish Head is one of my favorite breweries, which is why I splurged on this bottle over a year ago, saving it for a special occasion. It poured a beautiful honey color, with a small white head. I don't think I would describe this as a typical IPA. It's hoppy, to be sure, but it's very sweet, with an alcohol content somewhere upwards of 15%. I found it to be somewhat syruppy, and is certainly over the top. This is a beer for after dinner, an aperetif, or nightcap. It is definitely designed to be enjoyed all by itself, with no other distractions like food. In my book, Dogfish Head can do no wrong, but I do think I prefer the 90 Minute IPA over this one. The 60 Minute is excellent also!

Redhook Long Hammer IPA

With the "Great Hop Shortage of 2008" in full swing, I decided I should take advantage of the availability of hoppy beers while I still could, so today's selection is Redhook Long Hammer IPA. This is the American version of the IPA, which is decidedly more strongly hopped than the English IPA's. Redhook's IPA poured a nice deep golden color with a modest head that didn't last very long. Maybe I've been spoiled by over-the-top IPA's, but this one seemed somewhat subdued. I was expecting more hops! This seemed more like a pale ale than an IPA. Still enjoyable, but not quite what I was anticipating. Cool label at least.