The Drunken Polack

Yeah I know it’s bit a while since I’ve updated but some stuff has been going down at the Polacks house.  First off I had a new roof installed.  5600 dollars later I have a brand new super terrific roof.  But as those plans were coming together my AC Unit decides to die.  Nothing like getting a phone call from my girlfriend stating “Hey it’s hot as hell in here, something is wrong”  Sure enough the unit was a goner.  Living without AC sucks and we’ve done it for the past two weeks.  I was afraid to turn on my PC.  I might fry the bastard.  Finally yesterday the new AC unit was put in.  3800 dollars.  I’m no longer a Drunken Polack, I’ve a Broke Polack.  Oh and there is nothing like taking a closet full of beer and stuffing it in my chest freezer and fridge because I’m scared the 84 degree temp in the house might destroy every single bottle.  There’s no room for food!  But now that everything is back to normal, here is a quick little review.

Thanks to my buddy Kevin, I got to try the fabled 41% Double IPA from Brewdog.  This was try number two in their goal of creating the strongest beer in the world.  Go number one was Tactical Nuclear Penguin which I kinda enjoyed.  That was only in the 32% range.  Up there you can see how much I got to try and honestly like TNP, it was enough.

Bismarck pours a very light amber color.  The bottle opened up with a big pffffffffft but there really isn’t any carbonation on this beer.  It’s dead.  While the Penguin might of dislodged some of my nose hairs when I took a whiff, this destroyed anything in my nose.  I won’t have to clip any nose hairs for a while.  They got burned away by the huge presence of alcohol and hops.  The hops in this bad boy are just huge and it’s actually a lovely smell even though the alcohol is so big.  Huge amounts of citrus, pine, and other fruits.  Words just cannot describe. 

The taste is basically like a hop liquor.  Like they took vodka or whatever alcohol and infused it with hops.  Huge presence of alcohol that warms the throat was it goes down.  But once again the hops mix in well, they don’t totally make up for the big alcohol but it’s close.  There is a actually a noticeable malt presence but it hides pretty damn well.  

Mouthfeel is sticky, oily, and thin.  For the amount of alcohol in this beer it goes down fairly nice and it’s a good sipper.

Just like TNP, this is more of an experience and not something you would go to over and over again.  But if you like hops and I mean a lot of them and you don’t mind some alcohol thrown in (ok a lot of alcohol) then this is a beer you must try to find.  Gotta love the over 100 dollar price tag though.  Oh and if you run out of paint thinner for a project this might just do the job.

Found: Tasting
Price: Over 100 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.brewdog.com/
What the company says: We are wheeling out the big guns this time. Sink the Bismarck is a quadruple IPA that contains four times the hops, four times the bitterness and frozen four times to create at a staggering 41% ABV.

This is IPA amplified, the most evocative style of the craft beer resistance with the volume cranked off the scale. Kettle hopped, dry hopped then freeze hopped for a deep fruit, resinous and spicy aroma. A full out attack on your taste-buds ensues as the incredibly smooth liquid delivers  a crescendo of malt, sweet honey, hop oils and a torpedo of hop bitterness which lasts and lasts.
Other beers to try from this brewery: Brewdog Punk IPA, Brewdog Hardcore IPA
Other beers to try within the same style: While there isn’t a beer that quite lives up to this one here are some other beers in the same style.  Russian River Pliny the Younger, Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster
Rating: B+

I find it unbelievable that I’ve never written a review on this site for a Great Lakes brew.  While I haven’t exactly had a ton of their stuff I do know they make some fantastic beers.  Hello Blackout Stout.  This time around I got to try their Double IPA named Lake Erie Monster.  I’ve been to Lake Erie, beautiful place, hard to believe the monster on the front of the bottle lives there.

This monster pours a amber color with a finger sized head.  Lacing is everywhere on this one.  Not a section of my glass didn’t have some kind of lacing on it.

The smell was pretty damn nice.  Very sweet malt aroma which I wasn’t expecting.  Grapefruit and citrus.  Alcohol is very present and it just says that I’m not a beer to mess around with. 

This is a very malt forward Double IPA.  I thought it was a good mixture of a East Coast and West Coast Double IPA.  While the malt is pretty big in the taste, the hops come through big too.  It’s a very fruit taste.  Grapefruit, citrus, melon, and slight grassy.  The only thing that might of gotten in the way slightly was the alcohol taste.  While not overbearing, it was still a little to noticeable in my mind.  If they somehow hid the alcohol just a little bit more this would be just killer.

The mouthfeel was thick, nicely carbonated, oily, and juicy. It’s so hoppy at times I felt the same way I did with Pliny the Younger.  Felt like the enamel was coming off your teeth.

After one bottle of this stuff I was good.  I really enjoyed it but if one bottle of beer can make me slightly buzzed, I know when to stop.  A nice DIPA from Great Lakes.

Found: My buddy Kevin
ABV%: 9.10%
Price: Don’t know. 
Website: http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com
What the company says: An unfiltered imperial India pale ale with huge hop flavor.
Other beers to try from this brewery: Great Lakes Blackout Stout, Great Lakes Edmund Fitgerald Porter
Other beers to try within the same style: Southern Tier 2XIPA, Founders Hand of Doom
Rating: A-

Watch out now, here comes the hype train.  This time it’s rolling out of South Carolina from a small little brewery named Coast Brewing Company.  This brew came out of the middle of nowhere and has infiltrated Beer Advocates Top 100.  Sitting at number 68 to be exact.  I was lucky enough to land a growler of this stuff when I begged my ass off in the forums.  I gave up some pretty good stuff to try this draft only beer.  Was it worth it?  One word.  Yes.

What we might have here is one of the best IPAs brewed on the East Coast.  If you read this site you know I have a total hard on for West Coast IPAs.  They blow away anything else IPA wise in the country but this beer stands up to a lot of those wonderful West Coast IPAs and says “I’ve come here to chew bubblegum and kickass and I’m all out of bubblegum”  Thanks for the quote Roddy Piper.  If this beer takes off, which it pretty much already has, it would be dumb for Coast not to bottle this stuff to get it into the hands of all beer dorks out there.

Boy King pours a golden orange color.  Huge 3 finger head arises and sticks around with great retention.  As you drink this lovely DIPA, lacing is seen everywhere.  As soon as I opened up the growler my nose was blasted by tropical fruity goodness.  The citra hops used in this brew comes in nicely.  It seems they added more citra hops for the latest batch.  Follow that up with the other fruit, peach, mango, grapefruit, and you have quite the barrage of aroma.  The malt is there but it’s just sitting behind the wall of fruit.  It’s just amazing.

The taste isn’t as fruit forward as the smell is but don’t get me wrong.  The maltier side comes out more here.  It’s still amazing and juicy though.    All the fruits come back.  Mango, citrus, peach, and grapefruit.  It also has a sugary kind of taste and I also picked up some dry hopped taste and feeling.  There is a really nice bitterness from start to finish and it lingers nicely on the aftertaste. 

As if the look, taste, and smell of this beer wasn’t great enough, the mouthfeel is fantastic.  Full bodied, slick, and sticky.  Slight carbonation.  This beer is 4 for 4. 

Bottom line is, this is the East Coast IPA that needs to be tried.  Shame it’s only in growlers at the moment.  There’s a new King (har har) on this side of the US.  Lovely stuff.   At 9.50% this stuff is dangerous.  You’ll want to down the whole growler at once.

Found: Beer Trade
ABV%: 9.50%
Price: Rumor is around 22 dollars a growler
Website: http://www.coastbrewing.com/
What the company says: A highly hopped, yet still balanced, double IPA. 6 hop varieties, emphasizing Citra Hops, were used. We’re lovin’ the tropical goodness of this hop variety! July 2010: Even more Citra hops! Extreme tropical, melon and peach.
Ingredients: 2-Row*, Munich* and Wheat* Malt, Citra, Chinook, Nugget, Cascade, Centenniel and Columbus Hops. 9.7% abv.  Seasonal- Spring
Other beers to try from this brewery: Coast Blackbeerd
Other beers to try within the same style: Alpine Expoential Hoppiness, Port Brewing Hop-15
Rating: A+

In the land of beer heaven known as San Diego, Californa lies the giants like Stone, Ballast Point, Port Brewing/Lost Abbey, Alesmith, etc.  It’s easy to forget about breweries such as Karl Strauss.   They aren’t known as making extreme beers.  They are known for taking certain styles of beers and making them well. But it seems they decided to go a little bigger around this time and release a big and tasty Double IPA.  It also just so happens that they made it with possibly my favorite hop, Nelson Sauvin.  Ever since I’ve had Alpine Nelson I’ve just loved what the hop from New Zealand can do.  What’s even better is that I got this beauty as an extra in a beer trade.  I had no idea it was coming and was the biggest surprise in the box.  It was so good that I asked the gentlemen who traded with me if he could get me more.  A week later a few more showed and I devoured them too. 

This DIPA pours a clear copper color with a ton of bubbles floating up top.  Fluffy white two finger heads.  Good lacing throughout the glass.

Now since Alpine Nelson is the only beer I can think about when I think about Nelson hops, you might hear me compare this beer to Nelson.  Alpine Nelson was a much more balanced mix of a APA and an IPA.  This beer is a full on DIPA.  Alcohol is definitely noticeable and it’s a beer that is rough around the edges.  Still a fantastic mixture hops, malt, and fruits.  Mango, grapefruit, citrus, and grape undertones.  There are other kinds of hops used this beer and you’ll pick those up to in the aroma and taste of pine.  The backbone is primarily caramel malt. 

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and more on the heavy side of medium.  It’s smooth and goes down really nice.  There’s a very bitter aftertaste that just sits on your tongue.

This is a really good DIPA.  I’m in love with the Nelson Sauvin hop.  But I still believe if you want to truly get what this hop is all about, try a fresh bottle of Alpine Nelson.  This is a kickass beer though and it’s really put Karl Strauss on the map for me.

Found: Extra in a beer trade
ABV%: 9.00%
Price: Around 6 dollars a bomber
Website: http://www.karlstrauss.com/
What the company says: Big Barrel Double IPA is an intense West Coast IIPA for hop lovers. Abundant imported New Zealand hops give this medium-bodied ale fruity citrus and white grape-like flavors over a firm maltiness. It finishes dry with a lingering bitterness.
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew tried from these guys
Other beers to try within the same style: Brewdog Hardcore IPA, Founder’s Hand of  Doom
Rating: A

Another day, another IPA.  This time around though, I’m doing this quick review for the good of beer science.  You see there was this interesting post on Beer Advocate last week.  Usually I take posts on that site with a grain of salt.  Because well some of the people on there post some really wacky shit.  This around though when I saw people respond to this post and claim they had the same thought I had to step in.  You see, someone posted that this beer that you see above is the East Coast version of one of the best DIPAs out there, Pliny the Elder.  Elder holds a special place in my heart.  Elder is one of the best beers out there and definitely in my top 3 of best DIPAs period.  Might be number one, who knows though, I change my mind a lot.  It’s one of the only beers that really amazed the hell out of me the first time I sipped it.  That doesn’t happen much.  So could Southern Tier (who makes a bunch of great beer BTW) really take the reign as the brewery to make the East Coast equivalent? 

2XIPA pours a clear copper color with a two finger fluffy white head.  Bubbles shoot from the bottle of the glass to the top.  I hate to keep on bringing up Elder but this is war dammit.  The first time I had Elder, I just sat there with my nose implanted in the bottle.  I couldn’t believe a beer could do what Elder was doing.  It smelled like I was stuck in a forest full of pine trees.  2XIPA also has a really good nose to it.  Just doesn’t add up to Elder though.  The aroma is piney and fruity.  Pineapple, lemon, and citrus are mixed in with a nice spice note.  Very nice nose.

Spiciness comes up more in the taste.  The fruit comes in just right behind it.  Nice citrus notes mixed in with pineapple.  In the end the background of biscuit and caramel malt cut through with a good dose of alcohol. Bitterness lingers with the aftertaste.  A nice taste to go along with the nose.

The mouthfeel is a little bit on the lighter side.  Smooth and dry.  Goes down nicely.  Very clean.

This isn’t Elder.  Not really close but it is a good DIPA that I would like to have again.  Another fine addition to the Southern Tier line, doesn’t hurt that it’s a year around option either.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
ABV%: 8.20%
Price: Around 2 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.southerntierbrewing.com
What the company says: Not quite an imperial, but certainly not a standard India pale ale. Our double IPA is a hop lovers dream. Citrusy and clean with an incredible finish.
8.2% abv • Double India Pale Ale
Other beers to try from this brewery: Southern Tier Gemini, Southern Tier Mokah
Other beers to try within the same style: Oskar Blues Gubna, Brewdog Hardcore IPA
Rating: A-

I’ve had this beer once before.  But you see I had it in a van.   OK I had it in a fan heading from Wisconsin to Chicago.  A van packed with beer and beer nerds.  I had it right after I just blasted my palette with 6 fantastic beers from New Glarus.  I had this beer during Dark Lord Weekend.   Basically I don’t remember this beer.  =) So I was excited to get to try it again.  It ended up in my hands again as an extra in a beer trade.  Pretty damn good extra if you ask me!

Double Crooked Tree pours a dark amber.  Very little head is poured.  What you see is what you get in the picture.  When I first stuck my nose in the bottle I was amazed by the smell.  Super fruity and piney.  A really wonderful smell.  Sadly though when I poured the beer into the glass things changed a bit, well a lot.  It was  more of malty sweet aroma mixed in with a small amount of citrus and alcohol.  The lovely smell from the bottle was just about gone.

The taste is full of sweet caramel malt.  The fruit is there too.  Citrus and pineapple.  But really the sweet malt overpowers anything else in this beer.  I’m all for a hop bomb or a more balanced IPA but this really isn’t it.  It’s more like a malty barleywine.  More hoppy goodness would really balance this out nicely and make it a better Double IPA.  The alcohol was also a major factor here.  It’s not well hidden.  I do understand this is a 12% behemoth.

Mouthfeel is heavy and syrupy.  Definitely smooth with small amount of carbonation.  A bit of hop bitterness lingers on the tongue in the after taste.

For me, this would be a decent barleywine but it’s not an DIPA in my book.  It’s an ok brew but not something I would go back to.  If you’re up in Michigan it’s worth giving a try but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.  It was a nice extra in a beer trade.

Found: Extra in a beer trade
ABV%: 12.00%
Price: N/A
Website: http://www.darkhorsebrewery.com
What the company says: Have you read the description for the regular Crooked Tree yet? Well this beer is almost the same just double the flavor and alcohol. We actually took the Crooked Tree recipe and doubled all of the ingredients except the water, just the way a DOUBLE should be made. Big hops balanced with tons of malt give this beer a huge body. Although this beer is as cool as “The Fonz”  when first purchased, it gets really mellow and smooth with some age. After a year or two stored in a cool dark place you’ll notice the heavy caramel and malt flavors are trying to sneak past the hops. This beer is hugely delicious so it will need your undivided attention (the chores can wait….trust us).
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew tried from these guys
Other beers to try within the same style: Harpoon Leviathan, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Rating: B

Iron Hill Ironbound Ale – On Thursday I decided I wanted something easy drinking and something I can enjoy a few of.  That’s when I remembered I had a growler sitting in my fridge.  When you have to much beer, sometimes stuff like this happens.  Let’s rewind to the weekend before.  I was returning from my buddies wedding in PA when my girlfriend I decided to stop by a brewery we always spotted off the side of 95.  Everytime I’d go visit my family in PA I’d always look over while in  Wilmington,  DE and spot Iron Hill Brewery.  Never stopped by though.  Since this was probably the last time I’d be in PA for a while we took the detour and stopped by for lunch.  I’m glad we did.  This is a really nice brewery/brewpub.  One of the nicer ones I had ever been too. 

We ate some lunch.  I had a sampler of a one of their lagers called The Dark Side.  They describe it as:

“Strong dark German-style lager, dark malt sweetness is balanced with a slight bitterness.”

I actually really enjoyed it.  I’m not much of a lager fan but this was a totally different animal.  Rich, malt, and sweet.  It had a kick to it.  I also enjoyed a pint of their Belgian Wit.  That was also pretty damn good.  But if you know me well, you know I had to talk something home.  This is where the Ironbound Ale came in.  I took a look at Beer Advocate for something that wasn’t to huge and I came up with buying a growler of this APA. 

Ironbound Ale pours a cloudy orange color.  A huge head is poured with great lacing and retention.  Smell is really nice and clean.  A nice hop kick.  Not IPA huge but really nice for an APA.  Citrus and floral aromas with a nice caramel malt background. 

Bottom line is this is one of the best American Pale Ales I’ve ever had.  Taste is fresh, crisp, and clean.  Nice amount of caramel and toasted malt.  Mixed in with the fresh citrus hops and you have a real winner here.  Mouthfeel is medium bodied, crisp, and goes down so easy

In the world of Imperial this and Imperial that it’s really nice to have a flavorful ale that won’t get you drunk after a few pints.  A winner here.  I would love to live close to a brewery like this.

Found: From the brewery itself
Price: About 15 dollars a growler (Growler and fill)
Website: http://www.ironhillbrewery.com/
What the company says: Hold onto your beer mugs, because this medium-bodied beer has been overwhelmed with hop additions. Brewed as an American pale ale, it’s a celebration of American
ABV%: 5.1%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Iron Hill The Dark Side, Iron Hill Belgian Witbier
Other beers to try within the same style: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Founders Harvest Ale
Rating: A-

Flying Fish Exit 16 - New Jersey.  My birth place.  I’ll be honest.  New Jersey isn’t the prettiest place in the US but it has a certain charm about it.  Would I ever live there again.  Na.  Just not for me anymore but I do like going back to see what the hell is going on.  Especially in the city I was born, Jersey City.  Certain parts of that place are cleaning up nicely.  OK enough I’ll move on.

Flying Fish Brewery is located out of NJ.  They are currently making a line of beers called the “The Exit Series”  They describe it as:

“The Exit Series™ of beers is a multi-year brewing experiment to brew a series of beers as diverse as the great state of New Jersey. These big beers–in size as well as flavor–will celebrate each exit of the state-long artery that connects us. Each beer will focus on a unique aspect of an individual exit. Learn more about this project at ExitSeries.com.”

Wild Rice Double IPA is the fourth beer in the series.  I currently have the second beer in the series waiting in the wings but that’s another day.  This IPA was brewed with Wild Rice, White Rice, and Organic Brown rice.  You don’t see that mixture every day.  So I was really looking forward to see how the rice would change the beer. 

Exit 16 pours a cloudy golden color.  In the picture it looks more orangish but it’s definitely lighter.  Thanks IPhone.  Two finger fluffy white head is poured with minimal lacing and retention. 

Smell is nice and fruity.  Tropical fruits explode up front.  Mangos and pineapple with some citrus thrown in.  Piney and grassy hops mix in well with the fruit.  There’s a trace of some spice thrown in.  Could this be the rice?

Pale malt and fruity goodness is what the taste is all about.  Once again the tropical fruits are there and are the star of the show.  Small amount of piney hops, not as much as in the aroma.  In the end the spice shows up mixed in with a tad bit of alcohol.  Nothing to get in the way but it’s there. 

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side.  Dry, sticky, and nice carbonated and a joy to drink.

In the end I really liked this different type of IPA.  Honestly it doesn’t scream Double IPA.  I would think it would be stuck in the regular IPA category.  Especially with only being at 6.70% . 

The rice really didn’t add much to the flavor but I’m sure it did a lot with the look of this beer.  Any homebrewers out there want to comment on that? 

Found:State Line Liquors, Elkton, Maryland
Price: Lost the receipt, sorry!
Website: http://www.flyingfish.com/
What the company says: Although usually identified with landfills and pipelines, the Hackensack Meadowlands is an amazingly diverse ecosystem providing vital animal and plant habitat. In a nod to a once common food plant here, we’ve brewed this beer with wild rice. We also added organic brown and white rice, as well as pils and pale malts.

Rice helps the beer ferment dry to better showcase the five different hops we added. Lots and lots of them. We then dry-hopped this Double IPA with even more–generous additions of Chinook and Citra hops to create a nose that hints at tangerine, mango, papaya and pine. This beer pairs extremely well with spicy foods and all kinds of seafood. And of course, it’s quite enjoyable all by itself.
ABV%: 6.70%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew from these guys
Other beers to try within the same style: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Oskar Blues Gubna
Rating: A-

Three Floyd’s Lord Admiral Nelson – Last but definitely not least is the beer I enjoyed on Saturday night and when I say I enjoyed, I really enjoyed.  I’m not a bitter expert but I think I know a good one when I see one and this is the best bitter I’ve had yet. 

What we have here is Lord Admiral Nelson from Three Floyd’s, a one time brewed Extra Special/Strong Bitter.  I actually picked it up as an extra when I ordered some stuff from Archer Liquors.  I had to add a sixth beer to make it even.  I didn’t know this would be the star of the show. 

Admiral Nelson pours a nice copper color.  One finger head with a ton of lacing. 

Words cannot describe how in love I was with the aroma of this beer.  If every ESB was like this it would easily turn into one of my favorite styles.  It’s a hoppy ESB.  Floral and piney.  A ton of lemon and citrus mixed in with herbal notes.  A nice biscuit and sweet caramel malt background.  Lovely.

Like I said, I just found my favorite ESB.  Grapefruit and citrus steal the show here.  The lemon comes in next with a nice kick of herbal spice notes.  Caramel malt background with a smell but nice lingering bitterness.  Sweet and bitter at the same time.  Wow.  Full of flavor.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side.  A little watery but very smooth.

I know this isn’t the usual ESB.  Doesn’t fit the style all the way.  This is a Three Floyd’s ESB.  A mixture of two very good worlds brought together to form a hell of a beer.  I need to find out if there is more of this stuff out there!

Found: Archer Liquors, Chicago, Illinois (Mail Order)
Price: Around 7 dollars a bottle.
Website: http://www.3floyds.com/
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one
ABV%: 6.50%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Three Floyd’s Dark Lord, Three Floyd’s Rabbit Rabbit
Other beers to try within the same style: Mcneil’s Extra Special Bitter Ale, Stoudts Scarlet Lady Ale
Rating:  A+

Gubna is the newest canned beer from the boys from at Oskar Blues.  By the way,  I love the idea of canned beers.   More breweries are going the way of the can.  Most recently Avery and I think Sly Fox.  Some of my favorite beers come from cans.  Hello Surly!  And if done right beers can last just as long and if not longer in cans then when using bottles.  Ok off my rant here. 

Gubna is the 2nd IPA in their line.  Gordon being the first.  While I could never really get into Gordon, Gubna is more up my alley.

Gubna pours a  light amber color with a creamy one finger head.  Good retention and lacing.  Now  I’ve read a lot of reviews on this beer.  Very mixed.  I’ve heard people say they smell onions.  Ok I get that.  I’ve heard people say the smell reminds them of cat piss.   Yup I get that too.  Honestly I love beers that smell like cat piss.  I know I’m weird.  I’ve even seen a review where someone smelled pork.  Now that I don’t quite get from this beer.  What I do get is dank ass hops.  The mixture of pine and fruit create a power smell here any weed lover would enjoy.  Summit hops I think I love you.  While the hops are huge there is still a noticeable malt presence.  I could sit here all night and just smell this brew.  Friggin fantastic. 

Now the taste is actually a little different then the smell and in my opinion it’s good but not even close to the greatness that the smell gives off.  The onion and garlic everyone is taking about comes through more in the taste.  It’s spicy.  A good amount of citrus and grapefruit also come through and give quite the bitterness to the brew.  Caramel malt backbone can be found more in the taste then it did in the smell. 

The mouthfeel is thick and chewy.  It’s like the hops weren’t fully dissolved during fermentation and you’re chewing on them. 

This is a strange brew and I can honestly see why it’s getting mixed reviews.  I think with this one you either love it or hate it.  There’s no middle ground.  Personally I love everything it gave off.  The dank and funky aroma.   The onion taste everyone is talking about.  Like I said strange and well different then any other IPA i’ve laid my lips on.  I would love to have another can of this stuff.  I said can.  I love saying can.  Only real issue I see with this beer might be the price.  At 4 dollars a can it’s real hard for me to buy a 4 pack of this stuff.  But it’s so different it’s worth trying at least once.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: 4 dollars a can
Website: http://www.oskarblues.com/
What the company says:Emphasizing that complexity of character can arise from simple elements, this ale is made with 3 malts and 1 hop. Its light amber color and slightly spicy malt character are derived from the use of German Dark Munich Malt and Rye Malt respectively. North American 2-row barley combines with the other grains to lay the foundation for the hop onslaught to come. Summit hops are used exclusively in the boil for bitterness, flavor and aroma but it doesn’t end there. Post-fermentation dry hopping allows the 10% ABV monstrosity to gently coax the citrus rind and grapefruit aroma to join the 100 IBUs already present. This beer will greet you with a pungent citrus blast, provide a spicy yet round middle and finish with a brisk, clean bitterness.
ABV%: 10.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Oskar Blues Gordon, Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale
Other beers to try within the same style:Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Bell’s Hopslam
Rating: A-

First off it’s really good to be back.  I decided to take a 2 week break after the pain I put my liver through on the day known as Dark Lord Day.  I made it 9 days without a beer.  So I didn’t quite make that 2 week mark but close enough.  I decided to end the drought last night with a DIPA.  In fact I decided to end the drought with a brewery I’ve never had before.  Hoppin’ Frog out of Ohio.  Virginia is finally blessed with their presence.  They are pretty well known for their B.O.R.I.S. Imperial Oatmeal Stout (which I have their BA version aging in the freezer) but this is honestly the first time I’ve heard of this DIPA which comes in at a whopping 168 IBU.  To bad it’s not humanly possible to even experience 168 IBU.  I believe around 80 IBU is the max we can handle.  Whatever it is, this is a pretty bitter IPA.

Mean Manalishi pours a dark copper color.  One finger head forms but quickly disappears leaving a nice lacing around the glass.  When I first took a smell of this beer I was excited because it was a blast of fruit.  Grapefruit to be exact.  A nice mixture of citrus and pine follow.  No doubt this is a friggin hop bomb.  A small amount of dose of caramel malt can be found but it’s just thrown aside by the massive amounts of fruit and pine.  Lovely stuff

Now since I was so hyped by the aroma and I was even more hyped to take my first sip.  But up front I was very disappointed.  The fruit that I experienced in the smell was almost gone.   Instead what I got was a very bitter and very dry piney taste and not much more.  But at around half an empty glass the beer started to warm up a bit and everything just came together.  The deep and rich grapefruit and caramel started to come through and mix in there with the piney hops.  Some alcohol can be found but doesn’t interfere with any of the flavors.  By the end of the second glass I found myself wanting more.   The mouthfeel is sorta of on the light side and very dry.

This is a hop bomb.  It tries to be and succeeds big time.  By the time I was done with this brew I was very impressed by it.  Like I said above let this one sit for a while before diving in.  It’s a whole different experience when this one warms up.  One thing this one might have against it, especially when buying it again, is the price tag.  It comes in at 13 dollars a bomber which for me is really expensive for an IPA.  But it’s great to try once.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: 12.99 a bomber
Website: http://www.hoppinfrog.com/
What the company says: Explore the extremes of hops, and experience all of their bitterness, flavor and aroma with this Double I.P.A. An extreme, super-assertive and satisfying amount of American hop character is balanced with a toasty, caramelized, intense malt presence.
ABV%: 8.20%
Other beers to try from this brewery: First brew I’ve tried from these guys.
Other beers to try within the same style: Bell’s The Oracle, Founder’s Hand of Doom
Rating: B+

In a recent beer trade I got an extra that I thought was a bottle of homebrew.  That is until I flipped over the bottle and saw the ominous words “Hand of Doom”  Right then and there I knew I got one of the best extras I had ever received in a beer trade.  Hand of Doom isn’t bottled.  It hardly ever makes it out of the brewery.  Once in a while you’ll find it at a bar or festival but like I said, that’s a rarity. In that same beer trade I got some Canadian Breakfast Stout and some KBS.   So by the looks of it, the gentlemen who traded me these wonderful beers has a inside contact or friend at Founders.  I was pumped to try this 10% Double IPA.

Hand of Doom (isn’t that the coolest name ever?) poured a hazy deep orange color.  No head is poured at all.  I was a little worried this brew wouldn’t be carbonated but the cap come off with a nice pffft!  It’s alive!  Nice carbonation. 

In some of the reviews I read, some people mentioned the smell and taste of Maple.  Like they use on their CBS.  But I didn’t get that at all.  Maybe they got to try a special version?  The smell I did get though was fantastic.  First you’ll notice just how boozy this sucker is.  Up front is the smell of alcohol and straight up bourbon.  It stings the nose and takes you by surprise.  As the beer warms though everything comes together.  There’s a beautiful aroma of fruit.  Citrus and tropical fruits.  Then I picked up some pine and a wonderful aroma of vanilla.  So much going on.  Big and potent. 

At first sip I couldn’t get into this brew.  A lot of alcohol and not much more.  My mouth and throat burned.  But as the beer warmed up, just like the aroma, the beer came alive.  The fruitiness started to take charge.  Huge citrus and tropical fruits.  Mixed with the bourbon, vanilla, and oak it just added up to an out of this world taste.  Big hop character.  A while back I mentioned that when I have Pliny the Younger I feel like the enamel of my teeth is going to come off.  I kinda felt the same way here.  Huge. 

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, dry, and oily.  Can’t forget the alcohol burn.  It’s there from start to finish.  Perfect beer for a cold night.

I love and I mean love barrel aged stouts and porters.  I’m not to familiar with barrel aged IPAs but Founders proved that when done right it can be fantastic.  When I was done with the last sip I just wanted more and more.  Oh and I was actually buzzed out of my mind too.  I was slapped by the Hand of Doom!

Found: Beer Trade
Price: N/A
Website: http://www.foundersbrewing.com/
What the company says: Nothing about this exact beer on their site
ABV%: 10.40%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Founders Cerise, Founders Porter
Other beers to try within the same style: Bell’s The Oracle, Dogfish Head Squall IPA
Rating: A