In 2008 my beer geek within emerged after I took a business trip down to Los Angeles. I was alone and bored so I wandered to a Beverages & More to grab a unique beer. That night the Stone IPA. (India Pale Ale) opened my eyes to an entirely new world of beer. Long gone are my days of Miller Lite! Now once a week or so I stop by Whole Foods or BevMo to grab a new brew to try. Since my memory is horrible (ask Jennifer) I am going to log the beers I try and write a simple review. Beeradvocates.com members do a much better job critiquing beer than I ever will so head over there for more thorough reviews.
Date: 7/26/09
Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewery made for Trader Joes
Brew: Mission St. IPA
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.7%
Enjoyed straight from the bottle. I was out with my wife this weekend and we stopped by Trader Joes. The last beer I tried with the Little Sumpin Sumpin so I wanted to get back to a traditional IPA. Trader Joes has these six packs for $5.99 regular price. That is the least expensive IPA I’ve ever seen so I was willing to gamble! Since I had this from the bottle I can’t comment on the foam lacing or aroma from the glass, but I must say this IPA is great and at $5.99 it is a fantastic value! I would definitely buy this again when I get sick of paying $9 for Torpedo every week.
Update: I let the beer get slightly warm, which revealed its weakness. The best way I can describe it is to say it is the two buck chuck of IPAs. Sure it tastes like an IPA, but the flavor is completely flat. I retract my previous statement that I would buy it again.
Date: 7/19/09
Brewery: Lagunitas
Brew: Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale
Style: Unique – Almost a wheat IPA
ABV: 7.7%
Poured from a 12oz bottle. This is very similar to their Undercover Investigation ale in that the hops are definitely there, but it has the same sticky sweet flavor. It’s basically Undercover Investigation made with wheat. As a result I had four bottles over the week to give it a chance and decided it was just too sweet for me. I gave the remaining two bottles to a friend.
Date: 5/25/2009
Brewery: 21st Amendment – San Francisco, CA
Brew: Double Trouble Imperial I.P.A.
Style: Double IPA
ABV: 9.8%
Poured from tap. This was an amazing beer that I would put up against any of the double IPAs I’ve tried. Granted, getting the beer straight from the tap trumps my usual pour from a bottle. I also must admit it was my birthday and I was headed to the San Francisco Giants game so being with friends while standing outside in the cool San Francisco air may have enhanced the flavor as well. Hoppy, fruity and delicious!
Date: 5/5/2009
Brewery: Pyramid
Brew: Thunderhead IPA
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.7%
Poured from a 12oz bottle. Pyramid is a great local brewery with a brewpub here in Sacramento. I really like their hefeweisen and their Curveball seasonal ale. Being the IPA junky I am I had to grab a six of these to try. I have to admit I am spoiled by the Sierra Nevada Torpedo and Lagunitas IPA and all IPAs I try have a pretty high bar to overcome. The Thunderhead just doesn’t measure up. Even after the initial pouring the color looked more like a pilsner than an IPA… there wasn’t a hint of copper color that you would expect. The beer was clean to drink, but mouthfeel was very thin and the hops quickly faded into a lingering aftertaste. With a hoppy beer like this you would expect the foam to leave a nice lace, but my glass was almost perfectly clean when I was done. Very disappointed in this one.
Date: 4/27/2009
Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Brew: Hop Henge Experimental IPA
Style: Double IPA
ABV: 8.75%
Poured from a 22oz bottle. Wow! If you first read my review of Hop Stoopid a few beers below then the best way I can describe this beer is between the Sierra Nevada Torpedo and Hop Stoopid. The hops come through like a freight train, but Hop Henge avoids the overwhelming grapefruit/pine mouth bomb like Hop Stoopid. This is a great beer and I would grab a six of this any day if I could find it.
Date: 4/15/2009
Brewery: Lagunitas
Brew: Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale
Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 9.7%
Poured from a 12oz bottle. This was a very interesting brew. It tastes like it started as an IPA and then they just malted the crap out it. This is a drink it cold beer because as it warms it gets very sticky sweet. I don’t think I’ll get this again, but that’s mainly because I don’t care for strong malted beer.
Date: March 2009
Brewery: Green Flash
Brew: West Coast IPA
Style: IPA
ABV: 7.0%
Poured from a 12oz bottle. This is a great example of a simple, clean IPA. Very drinkable, great hop flavor that hides the hefty 7% ABV.
Date: March 2009
Brewery: Speakeasy
Brew: Big Daddy IPA
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.5%
Poured from a 12oz bottle. I think the most telling fact about this beer is that I can’t remember anything unique about it.
Date: March 2009
Brewery: Bear Republic
Brew: Racer 5 IPA
Style: IPA
ABV: 7.0%
To be reviewed
Date: February 2009
Brewery: Lagunitas
Brew: Hop Stoopid
Style: Double IPA
ABV: 7.7%
To be reviewed
Date: February 2009
Brewery: Sierra Nevada
Brew: Torpedo Extra IPA
Style: Extra IPA
ABV: 7.2%
To be reviewed
Date: January 2009
Brewery: Sierra Nevada
Brew: Celebration Ale
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.8%
To be reviewed
Date: January 2009
Brewery: Sierra Nevada
Brew: ESB (Early Spring Beer)
Style: Extra Special Bitter
ABV: 5.9%
To be reviewed
