I am still playing a bit of catch up with the blog. I find it difficult to keep up when I keep getting to try a ton of great beers! Still, I'm doing my best. This particular bunch were from a tasting we did on New Years. They were all big IPAs so we had to span them out in order to assure that our taste buds survived the evening.
First up is Bitter Valentine (9%ABV) from Williamsburg Alewerks. This local DIPA pours a crystal clear dark gold with an eggshell head. The nose is assaulted with grassy hops as soon as the bottle is cracked. Once poured, some nice citrus notes sneak through on this big nose as well. Those citrus notes lead off in the flavors along with some sweet malts. Some piney bitterness follows, and it then finishes smoothly with some grapefruit. The flavor profile here was outstanding. This is a double IPA worth looking for. I purchased it on recommendation from Kevin at Grape & Gourmet. He hasn't let me down yet!
Next up was one I had meant to try for a long time: Lagunitas Hop Stoopid (8%ABV). Quick note for the local folks, if you have access to the Navy exchange, these bottles are about a dollar cheaper there. If not, it is worth the price out in town. Hop Stoopid pours clear gold with a just barely off white head. The nose consists mostly of sweet malts with some sticky smelling hops in there as well. First thing you notice about this beer is how easy it is to drink considering it is supposed to rank in at 102 IBUs. All that hoppy bitterness is balanced perfectly with citrus and malt flavors. Surprisingly I did not find it bitter at all. I think it was just a superb example of balance, delivering both citrus hop flavors and delicious sweet malts evenly throughout the entire flavor profile. I was thoroughly impressed, especially considering this was the cheapest beer of this line up. Bravo, Lagunitas!
After giving out palate a quick breather, we cracked open Racer X (8.3% ABV) from Bear Republic. Racer X poured a dark, semi clear gold with a typical off white head. The nose is dominated by really sweet malts, with just a little bit of pine hops sneaking through. Those big malts follow through in the flavor, taking over most of the flavor profile. Some light citrus notes briefly appear before a pretty bitter finish. When dealing with big IPAs, some tend to lead with the malts, some with the hops, but almost all are extreme. Racer X clearly leads in the malt department, and is definitely a solid offering.
Last up was West Coast IPA (7.3% ABV) from Green Flash Brewing. Let me start my saying that I may have received an older bottle, as I did not experience the intense hoppiness I expected from this beer. Or it could be that the only other two beers I've had from Green Flash are Green Bullet and Palate Wrecker, so I was expecting to have my mouth destroyed by hops. Either way, it is a solid beer, so try it for yourself before basing an opinion off of my experience. West Coast IPA poured a hazy gold with a thick, off white head. The nose was full of light pine hops but nothing overwhelming. My first sip revealed some interesting, fruity malt flavors at the forefront. These flavors were followed up with some piney hops, though not overly bitter. Like I said before, this beer was much more mellow than I expected. Not in a bad way, just surprising.
No comments:
Post a Comment