New Belgium / Alpine Super IPA Review

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Nick Ladd

New Belgium / Alpine Super IPA

The nature of the craft beer movement encourages trends. Currently, it seems that collaboration beers are all the rage. Stone does it all the time (even with homebrewers) as does Russian River, Deschutes, Hair of the Dog, and many of the greatest breweries in the country. Super IPA is a collaboration between one of the biggest craft brewers (New Belgium) and one of the smallest and most sought after (Alpine Beer Co.). At first glance, this seems like an amazing opportunity for a small and critically-acclaimed brewery to get distribution well-beyond their typical geographical influence. Unfortunately, while quaffable, this beer misses on many marks which would have made it amazing.

Beer Data:

Purchased: 10/5/12 at Whole Foods P Street, Washington DC
Consumed: 10/7/12
Bottled: No decipherable date on bottle
Alcohol: 9% ABV

Commercial Description from Website:

The Alpine Beer Co. and New Belgium have come together for the love of IPAs. This collaboration is hop-wonderful with Amarillo, Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial hops, bringing the bitter all the way to the front. A nice balance is present with Pale, C-80 and Carapils malts, but the tropical and citrus tones of the American hops dominate. This Super IPA pours a sheened copper and carries a bright, white head. Consider yourself a hero for getting an Alpine beer outside of San Diego.

Tasting Notes:

Aroma: Big green grassy raw hop aroma. Hops are quite resinous and herbal. This beer is dominated by Columbus hops, which are very rough around the edges. There are some nice mango and tropical fruit notes which seem bullied by the heavy piney and grassy characters. Little to no malt aromas are present on the nose; quite characteristic of Alpine’s other offerings. This beer smells like homebrewed beers I’ve had that sat too long on the dry hop. 5 / 12

Appearance: Very light copper bordering on golden. Off-white head with great retention. Clear, but not crystal clear. 3 / 3

Flavor: Big grassy raw hop flavor. Lots of resin on the palette. The flavor is pretty one-dimensional and dominated by the grassy / herbal hop flavor. There is a very light sweetness / honey character to the malt, but it is by no means easily perceived. This is a very smooth beer whose bitterness is quite low for the style, but balances with the dryness of the beer. This is where I see Alpine’s biggest influence. 11 / 20

Mouth Feel: Medium / medium low body. Average carbonation. Some astringency reminiscent of chewing on a raw hop pellet. 4 / 5

Overall Impression: Alpine is known for producing over-the-top hoppy beers with huge tropical fruit flavors and very lean malt profiles. I feel like this beer tried to hit those notes, but fell short in the hop selection arena. I can’t help but think that perhaps the need to produce New Belgium scale quantities of this beer forced the hand of the brewers into compromising on their hop selection; using massive quantities of Columbus hops which come off harsh, grassy and herbal in this beer rather than the more tropical varietals like Amarillo and Simcoe listed on New Belgium’s website. The malt is perfectly in line with Alpine’s tradition; dry and lean which would set the stage perfectly for a cleaner, fruitier hop experience. Unfortunately, this is where it falls short. 5 / 10

Score: 28 / 50 (Good)

Note: Evaluation done according to BJCP Scoring System. This beer was reviewed as a Category 14c. Imperial IPA.

Dark Horse Brewing Co. Crooked Tree IPA Review

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Nick Ladd

Crooked Tree IPA

In spite of my limited tenure in New York, I can already tell it is an exciting time to be a beer lover in the city. It seems like each new day brings news of yet another brewery distributing to the state. It is hard to keep up, but my liver is trying its best. When I saw that Bierkraft had tapped several kegs of Dark Horse beers, I hustled on over for a reasonably priced growler fill. Dark Horse has gained some following outside of Marshall, Michigan and I am excited to try the beers they send my way.

Beer Data:

Purchased: 9/17/12 at Bierkraft – 64 oz. Growler $11.95
Availability: Year-round (according to Dark Horse Brewing’s website)
Alcohol: 6% ABV

Commercial Description from Website:

Inspired by West Coast I.P.A.’s, but brewed with Michigan style. The Crooked Tree is heavily dry hopped to give it a big aroma of pine and citrus. The flavors are big, yet very balanced between fresh hops and malt. Often described as “grapefruit” our hops give this beer an excellent fruit flavor that finishes dry, crisp, and clean. It will pour a nice deep copper color with a bit of haziness. Because of our almost patented “Intense Transfer Methods” our Crooked Tree has won several medals in the India Pale Ale category.

Tasting Notes:

Aroma: This beer eschews the brash tropical and over-the-top hop aromas of trendy (and proprietary) hop varietals like Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo, and their New Zealand brethren. Instead, what is immediately apparent are the classic aromas of grapefruit with a hint of an herbaceous note, reminiscent of classic hops like Cascade and Centennial. Aside from the hops, there are fairly strong malt aromas of toasty biscuits and crackers. The aroma is very nice, but perhaps a little understated by measure of other American IPAs. As the sample warms, a touch of alcohol presents itself. 8 / 12

Appearance: This is not a pretty beer. Out of the growler came a muddy copper devoid of any exciting highlights. The beer easily produced a nearly white meringue-like head that unfortunately dissipated rather quickly (perhaps because the carbonation was low from the growler fill). The foam is quite sticky, likely due to the large amount of hops used. 1 / 3

Flavor: Lots of grapefruit are the initial impression; however, this is followed by a very large malt flavor. The malt is less in the range of sweet caramel and toffee and more in the spectrum of heavily toasted malt. I get the impression that there is a firm Munich or Vienna malt presence with perhaps some biscuit like malts (Victory, Special Roast, Biscuit, etc.). The malt is more reminiscent of an English IPA and provides an interesting, but stylistically incorrect, counterpoint to the classic American hop profile. The hops finish with a slight grassiness, likely from the dry hop. 13 / 20

Mouth Feel: This beer presents with a medium / medium-low level of carbonation likely the side-effect of the growler fill. This lends to an appealing almost cask like mouth-feel. There is a firm bitterness that balances any residual sweetness and finishes with a touch of grassy astringency. Quite quaffable for an IPA. 3 / 5

Overall Impression: I very much enjoyed the balance of this beer. Unfortunately, to me the hallmark of the American IPA category is an assertiveness that celebrates huge in-your-face hop flavors at the cost of balance. This is America, dammit, and more is not always less when it comes to the IPA category. The beer is obviously well-crafted with no technological faults. It is a great drinker that one could easily empty a growler of (I did), but I doubt it would win many competitions as an American IPA. 6 / 10

Score: 31 / 50 (Very Good)

Note: Evaluation done according to BJCP Scoring System. This beer was reviewed as a Category 14b. American IPA.

From the Cellar: 2010 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Nick Ladd

2010 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot was one of the beers that originally showed me the interesting evolution a well-crafted beer goes through as it ages. When fresh, Bigfoot is brash and hoppy, making no excuses for its intense bitterness, citrusy hops, and big alcohol. As it ages, the hops become more integrated and nuanced while allowing the complex malt to sing. The interplay of slow micro-oxidation with the malt and alcohol begins to create wonderful fruit and sherry-like notes that turn this beer into something very different than its fresh self. Straight off the packaging line, or with a couple years age, this is a delicious beer. Drink some fresh, but stash away a few to drink slowly and see what time can do to a well-crafted beer such as this.

Availability: Winter
Bottled: 2010
Alcohol: 9.6% ABV

Commercial Description from Website:

Our award-winning barleywine boasts a dense, fruity bouquet, an intense flavor palate and a deep reddish-brown color. Its big maltiness is superbly balanced by a wonderfully bittersweet hoppiness.

Tasting Notes:

Aroma: Big rich malt hits you first–reminiscent of thick dark caramel, molasses, biscuits, and toasted bread crust. There is a lot of fruit in here as well: prunes, light apricot, and a hint of lychee. The aroma is heavy and complex with plenty of oxidized sherry-like notes. Very little alcohol is apparent as are a hint of piney hops. 11 / 12

Appearance: Hazy somewhat muddy brown color with some rust-like hues. Upon pouring, a tightly bubbled tan head forms that persists until the end–quite impressive for a high alcohol beer. 3 / 3

Flavor: The flavor follows the aroma with superb rich malt and sherry-like flavors. There are more hops apparent in the flavor, but they are a shadow of their former self with some pine-needle like and slightly citrusy flavors. The hops are very apparent in the firm bitterness that is present. 17 / 20

Mouth Feel: This beer has a big sticky mouth feel that finishes just on the sweet-side of dry due to the big bitterness still present in the beer. 4 / 5

Overall Impression: This beer manages to be complex in different ways at both a young and well-aged stage in its life. At either age, it is not a subtle beer. The flavors are intense, the alcohol is big, and the overall impression makes you want to sit back and take your time sipping and dissecting the layers of flavor present in the beer. This is truly the best example of an American Barley Wine that I can think of. 10 / 10

Score: 45 / 50 (Outstanding)

Note: Evaluation done according to BJCP Scoring System. This beer was reviewed as a Category 19c. American Barley Wine.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale Review

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Nick Ladd

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin

October is finally here. Although pumpkin beers have been on the shelves for months, they never seem that appealing to me until the days start getting shorter and a chill grasps the morning air. Living in Seattle ruined pumpkin beers for me. Admittedly, I need to be in the right mood to imbibe pumpkin beers and when I do, I tend to gravitate toward the hallmark for the style, Elysian’s Great Pumpkin. When I drink a pumpkin beer, I want it to be rich– like the pumpkin pie so many are inspired by. That being said, I don’t like overly sweet beers or ones that taste like you’re drinking some sort of spiced tea. I was pleasantly surprised by this example from Weyerbacher. While not as awesome as the Great Pumpkin, it is a worthy replacement, especially in the 12 oz. format The Great Pumpkin sorely lacks.

Beer Data:

Purchased: 9/3/12 at Whole Foods Bowery – $12.99 / 4-pack 12oz bottles
Availability: Fall
Bottled: 7/12/12
Alcohol: 8% ABV

Commercial Description from Website:

Like a pyramid for a pharaoh, we set out to make a bold monument for The King of the Pumpkins! This 8.0% ABV pumpkin ale is the mother of all pumpkin ales. It is heartier, spicier, and more “caramelly” and “pumpkiny” than its faint brethren!

Tasting Notes:

Aroma: My first impression of this beer is a huge dose of nutmeg, bringing up fond memories of eggnog and celebrations of Christmases past. Some cinnamon and clove round out the spice perception, which is a little more in your face than most examples I enjoy. There is a sweet dark caramel malt component. The yeast shows a very faint fruity ester, which pleasantly combines with the spice. The spice aromas are bright and crisp, giving way only to a handful of sweet malt aromas. Alcohol is mildly perceptible on the nose. 10 / 12

Appearance: Rich copper bordering on brown with some nice ruby highlights. Beer is hazy with off-white head featuring tight bubbles that persist. 2 / 3

Flavor: The hints of rich malt that were apparent in the aroma sing with each mouthful. Toasty, melanoiden-rich flavors of bread crust combine with some sweet caramel and molasses flavors providing a very rich flavor. Cinnamon is much more apparent in the flavor. Like most pumpkin beers, the actual pumpkin component is very light and almost imperceptible. The beer has a nice bitterness that prevents it from being too sweet. Spices finish with a hair of astringency. 15 / 20

Mouth Feel: Medium / medium-high mouth feel. Very nice creamy carbonation helps round out some of the intense spices. A bit of hot alcohol on the finish combines with bitterness and spice astringency making the beer finish slightly thin. 3 / 5

Overall Impression: This is a very nutmeg-forward example of a pumpkin beer which helps it stand out on a shelf filled with competing pumpkin beers. Spices are a bit too prominent and out of balance. I’d like to see some of the cream and crust flavors other examples of the style have. Still very delicious and a great example. 7 / 10

Score: 37 / 50 (Very Good)

Note: Evaluation done according to BJCP Scoring System. This beer was reviewed as a Category 21a. Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer.

Troegs Perpetual IPA Review

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Nick Ladd

Perpetual IPA on a Sunny Brooklyn Afternoon

East coast IPAs are frequently eclipsed by their hoppier west coast cousins. This was especially true a couple of years ago, before wildly popular beers like Heady Topper and various offerings from Hill Farmstead stormed the national beer stage. Of course, like all generalizations, there are certainly exceptions. More and more east coast breweries are shifting production towards the market’s demand for over-the-top hop aroma and flavor and producing beers like Perpetual IPA; a beer that makes the west coaster in me feel right at home.

Beer Data:

Purchased: 9/10/12 at a neighborhood bodega – $14.99 / 12oz. 6 pack
Availability: Year-round (according to Troegs’ website)
Bottle Date: 7/2012
Alcohol: 7.5% ABV

Commercial Description from Website:

In our constant evolution as a brewery, we’ve developed an undying drive to meld the organic and the mechanical. Perpetual IPA utilizes our hopback and dry-hopping to engineer a bold Imperial Pale Ale. It features Bravo, Chinook and Mt. Hood hops in the boil, Mt. Hood and Nugget hops in the hopback, and is further dry-hopped with Citra and Cascade hops.

Tasting Notes:

Graphically Pleasing Label

Aroma: A thick luscious hop aroma fills your nose–reminiscent of tangerine, mango, and a touch of pineapple to go along with a small amount of classic grapefruit. Almost no malt aroma makes it through the hops, but what is evident has a very lightly toasted French bread quality. After further contemplation, some very light spicy hop notes are evident as well as a hint of pine forest. The hop aroma is the star here with many layers and a deep complexity. 12 / 12

Appearance: Near-crystal clarity with a hue that is only a couple shades deeper than a classic pilsner. Billowy off-white head forms sticky foam that resists until the last drop. 3 / 3

Flavor: Like the aroma, the flavor is dominated by hops. Grapefruit becomes more evident in the flavor, perhaps due to the fruitiness combining with the hops bittering qualities. There is a very light toasty malt component that needs to be searched for. Only the slightest hint of alcohol comes through; an impressive feat in a beer of this size. Personally, I love the flavor of this beer, but to better fit the style, it would require a little more malt complexity. 14 / 20

Mouth Feel: This beer is very dry and drinkable. The bitterness is firm, but on the low end of the style when compared to other commercial examples. I actually prefer this to the bracingly sharp bitterness of many IPAs. The body is medium, medium/light with a level of carbonation that is quenching but not harsh. 4 / 5

Overall Impression: A very well-balanced beer. The massive hop aroma and flavor is varied and intense while the relatively easy bitterness keeps the beer from being harsh and enhances its ability to be consumed one after another. I love this beer and hope to find a less-expensive source of it so it can become a routine drinker. It’s interesting that the label refers to this beer as an ‘Imperial Pale Ale’ rather than ‘India Pale Ale’–perhaps this is an allusion to the lean malt character and restrained bitterness? 8 / 10

Score: 41 / 50 (Outstanding)

Note: Evaluation done according to BJCP Scoring System. This beer was reviewed as a Category 14b. American IPA.