Rogue Farms 7 Hop IPA

BA score: 89

Brewed by: 
Rogue Ales 
Oregon, United States

Style | ABV 
American IPA |  8.02% ABV 


Reviews: Pour in a hazy honey amber color with one finger foam head. Initial taste is lemony citrus rounding out by a mild punch of hops at the end. (I like IPA so my mild might be medium to those not used to IPA) Lower carbonation than your typical IPA but I am starting to like that as I am able to pick up various notes of the beer better. Slight sweetness makes this a very drinkable IPA. Could have killed the 22 oz on my own easily instead of sharing with a friend. 

Hopnotist - Parallel 49 Brewing Company

So went to Vancouver about 3 weeks ago and being a beer nut I am, I had to visit at least one brewery and after lots of research, Parallel 49 was the destination.

I really knew very little about this brewery and nothing about their beers other than it's one of the oldest craft brewery in Vancouver and has a pretty large following by the locals.

BA Score: 92

Brewed by: 
Parallel 49 Brewing Company 
British Columbia, Canada

Style | ABV 
American Double / Imperial IPA |  8.50% ABV 

Availability: Limited (brewed once)

Notes/Commercial Description: 
Parallel 49's first anniversary ale. Single hopped double IPA brewed exclusively with Mosaic hops. 

86 IBU

Review: Absolutely blown my mind away. Definitely top 5 IPAs I have had and believe me, I had a shit load of IPA since I started drinking craft beer. Pours in a slightly hazy medium copper amber color with 2 fingers of puffy bubbly head. 

It smells of dank (natch!) wet forest petrichor, musty orange and grapefruit citrus flesh, hints of mint-tinged wintergreen, bready caramel malt, white chalk, lesser generic tropical fruit notes, and further leafy, floral, and certainly perfumed hops. Extremely drinkable for a 8.5% IPA. I had 2! 

The carbonation is fairly low-key in its meek frothiness, but generally supportive all the same, the body a stoic medium-heavy weight, and way more smooth than I would have opined at initial hop contact. It finishes off-dry, the bready caramel malt calling time, yet sort of futilely, as those hovering Mosaic hop esters just won't go the fuck to sleep.

Another immensely enjoyable and well-rendered single-hop IPA (oh, right, a DIPA), all from the good graces of a single hop strain. These sorts of affairs are getting more and more rounded and drinkable since one of those (in)famous Danish twins carried out their broad IPA experiment a few years back. So, we now lay in the afterglow of that, and, I gotta say, the layin' is certainly swell.

Saison Dupont - Brasserie Dupont sprl

I am back bitches!!!!!

I didn't disappear because I stopped drinking craft beer that's for damn sure. In fact I probably drink 10x more since I stopped writing this blog. Just been busy with life in general and busy hitting up breweries and beerfest and tasting all the amazing craft beers now available since it's becoming so goddamn popular.

BA score: 93
Brewed by: 
Brasserie Dupont sprl 
Belgium

Style | ABV 
Saison / Farmhouse Ale |  6.50% ABV 

Availability: Year-round

Review: Besides IPA, Saison is probably my second favorite type of beer. It's highly carbonated and dry. Almost like a champagne of the craft beer world. Pours in a slightly hazy golden color with tons of foam/head. Smell immediately brings an unrestrained funk and earthiness. Some floral/fruity tone makes its way in as well. Fairly complex and some notes pushing a bit too far than other when drinking. Extremely refreshing. Medium in terms of drink-ability because it's so crisp and dry. But it is epitome of the style I suppose. You can pick one up at WholeFood!

Delirium Tremens

After a long hiatus from my craft beer blog, I am back!!!! Reasons for my absence, LIFE. Or as I like to call it mother-fuckin life. Yeah work is a bitch, parents' a constant pain in the butt, friends' getting married left and right, vacation with the homies, that sort of shit. But back to why I have this blog, it is about the beer damn it! So this is my most recent discovery when I went to browse the high end grocery market in my hood. The bottle captured my attention and I didn't have my phone on me to look up the reveiws. Well to my surprise, this is an award winning Belgium strong ale according to Wikipedia: Delirium Tremens was named as "Best Beer in the World" in 2008 at the World Beer Championships in Chicago, Illinois, USA.^[1][2] Stuart Kallen gives it the number one spot in his The 50 Greatest Beers in the World.^[3]

So lets get on with the tasting shall we? The beer poured a beautiful golden yellow. Nice thick head that holds its retention with dancing heavy carbonation bubbling below.

The smell hit me with citrus, a bit of banana and a nice yeasty floral fragrance.

The first taste brings me back.  The mouth feel is creamy, which has the citrus and carbonation riding through,  then the yeasty mustiness comes in along with some sourness. The carbonation takes over and leaves a nice dry finish.  The taste is complex and gets better as you drink. Tasting different notes as it warms.

Wow. This beer is in every word, an extremely “drinkable” beer. Goes down easy and satisfies that deep “good beer quality” thirst you yearn for AND deserve.

Rate Beer: 96 overall score, 8.5% ABV, Brewed by Brouwerij Huyghe

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/delirium-tremens/1039/  

Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat

Lost Coast Brewery. Eureka, California:
http://www.lostcoast.com/

BA Score 75: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/256/31931

Description from the brewery: A refreshing citrus ale, Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat combines our Lost Coast Harvest Wheat with natural tangerine flavors. Brewed with a combination of wheat and crystal malts, and finished with Perle hops.

Side note: Fruit infused beer is nothing new. Raspberry lambic comes to my mind when we talk about these type of beer. Now brewers are expanding the flavor profile of these type of beer with other fruits like tangerine, orange, and grapefruit. I think brewers are definitely trying to get more females to join the beer lovers by making fruit infused beer which is usually a pale ale with light body and much sweeter flavor profile than your typical beer.

My take: You can smell the tangerine right from the start when you open the bottle and it pours in a hazy yellow straw color with a light head of foam. The initial sip is a carbonated rush of tangerine citrus sweetness with a mild spice tingling in the back end. The tangerine is front and center in this beer, Lost Coast definitely isn't being subtle here compared to the Dog Fish Head's Apricot IPA. It's a very drinkable beer as you taste very little hop and bitterness. I can see a lot of chicks digging this beer due to it's aroma and tangerine sweetness. Personally, I like my beer with a little more punch and the tangerine is a little too overpowering for my taste. Not a lot of depth either which might be what they are trying to go for with a clean simple fruit infused beer. Not something I would go out and buy a six pack any time soon...unless I am drinking with bunch of chicks I guess. Though I probably get the Triple Karmeliet which is super light and smooth for a beer with 8.4% ABV. Girls love it and wonder why they are tipsy drinking a light beer, LOL (j/p).

Chimay Tripel (White)

Chimay, Belgium: http://www.chimay.com/en/bieres-de-chimay.html?IDC=287

BA score 91: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/215/1346

Description from the brewery: The Chimay Triple, last-born of the Abbey, is labelled "Cinq Cents" on the 750 ml bottle. Of a golden colour, the Trappist beer combines sweet and bitter in a rare balance. The beer's aroma felt in the mouth comes from the hops' perfumes: above all, they are fruity touches of Muscat grapes and raisins, even ripe apples. This traditional Belgian beer is best savoured fresh at a temperature of from 6 to 8°C.

Breaking down the label: Chimay is famous in the state and stands out mainly for being a "Trappist" beer. For those of you who don't know, it simply means that it is brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery under the control and responsibility of the community of monks, and whose revenue is devoted to social service. There are only 6 active trappist brewery in Belgium so that's why we see so few beers with the "Trappist" label. Triple on the label means triple ale and is used by Belgian Trappist breweries to describe the strongest beer in their range. Typically 8 to 10% ABV.

My not so professional review: As you can see from the picture, Chimay Triple pours in a golden amber color with a nice size head of foam. As I bring the cup close to my nose, I can smell the Belgium yeast, sweet fruity notes and a hint of spice as well. Upon first sip, my immediate reaction is the heavy carbonation and crisp on the tongue then followed up with slightly citrus sweetness balanced with some spice in the middle. It rounds off with a not so subtle hop bitterness and is finished rather dry in the mouth. The fruity sweetness is balanced extremely well with the herbal spice, it doesn't overpower one another and since I like some hop in my beer, the hop bitterness in the end is a nice finish for me. It's light body though a little too much carbonation for my liking, but for a beer with an 8% ABV, it's a pretty refreshing beer and the spice and hop will definitely keep your attention.

Russian River Brewing, Pliny the Elder

 

Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA: http://russianriverbrewing.com/ 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/863/7971   BA score:  100!!!

Description: Pliny the Elder is brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops. It is well-balanced with malt, hops, and alcohol, slightly bitter with a fresh hop aroma of floral, citrus, and pine. Best enjoyed FRESH!

My take: Absolutely THE best IPA I ever had. Pour in a beautiful golden yellow color with a thick head of foam. You can smell the bright and fresh pine and the floral notes as you draw the glass in. First taste, hoppy beer but balanced perfectly with citrus sweetness which makes this such a drinkable IPA since the hop bitterness never overpowers the IPA while maintaining the hop and pine flavor throughout. It's just so smooth for an IPA with all the elements melting beautifully to enhance all the flavors in your taste buds.