New Brew Thursday - Now wait a just minute or 60 or 90 or 120

One of my favorite go-to IPA's is Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA.  It's a great middle of the road IPA . . . not too bitter, not too hoppy, and very refreshing . . . pretty much IPA perfection.

So, as a natural matter of course it's predictable to assume that I'd be curious to try the 90 Minute and 120 Minute IPA's.  A fair assumption and an accurate one.

I went to my favorite beer store and scored a four pack of the 90 Minute IPA and a bottle of the 120 Minute IPA (it's only sold as a single).  The plan . . . to enjoy them in succession and compare all the Dogfish Head Minute IPA's.

Before I get into the individual reviews of each of these beers I'd like to say that neither of theses beers were anything like I anticipated them to be.  Not in a bad way . . . just different than I expected.

See my review of 60 Minute IPA here.  Like I said before, an excellent example of an India Pale Ale.

As the name sort of indiciates, 90 Minute IPA is hopped for 90 minutes, is 9% ABV and has 90 IBUs.  Think of it as the big bro to the 60 minute . . . it's a bigger beer for sure.  

It pours a lovely golden color but somehow has a reddish tint when the glass is full.   It has full but quickly dispating head the leaves a good lacing on the glass. It's got a maltier aroma than I expected . . . I was expecting a nose full of bitter hops.  It's also sweeter than I thought it would be . . . 

caramel and malt keep the hoppiness at bay . . . again I expected more bitter hoppiness.   What makes this beer so interesting to me is that although it has sweet malty characteristics it has the citrus hop backbone that compliments and enhances the overall flavor profile.  It is certainly an interesting and unique IPA . . . smooth and delicious . . . a beer to be sipped and enjoyed.  Overall . . . excellent.

The 120 Minute IPA was even more surprising to me.  Admittedly, I anticipated a big beer and in that aspect I was not surprised or disappointed.  There is no doubt that this a very big beer . . . big flavor, lots of alcohol, mucho everythingo . . . a whopping 15-20% ABV and 120 IBUs.

It pours an amber color with almost no head.  It's smells of booze, sweet malt and hops.  The taste?  Nothing short of amazing.  

However, there's no disguising the alcohol content in this brew . . . it's there and you can taste it . . . but, like a fine brandy, it doesn't bury the rest of the flavors.  This beer is strong and smooth and nicely effervescent.  Seeing that this beer is hopped for two full hours I expected a more hoppy flavor but was instead I tasted caramel, sweet malt combined nicely balanced with a citrussy hop undertone.  This beer is mildly sweet, barely bitter . . . it really is comparable to brandy or cognac.

I recently spied 120 Minute on the beer board at our favorite pub . . . 4 ounces for $8.  Cha-ching considering I can get an 12 ounce bottle for $10 to $12.  However, I wanted to sample this fine beer straight from the tap . . . I wasn't disappointed.

A word of advice . . . don't rush through this beer; savor it, contemplate it.  There's a whole hell of a lot going on here and it is simply amazing.  Overall . . . awesome!

Visit Dogfish Head at their website  or on Facebook 

New Brew Thursday - Pyramid Thunderhead

It's been a few years since I visited the Seattle area, but when I was there I met some friends at Pyramid Brewing Company.  As I recall it was a great beer drinking experience.   

It wasn't until very recently that I've been able to buy Pyramid beer all the way here on the east coast.  When I spotted it, I picked up a six pack of Pyramid Thunderhead IPA at my local beer store.  Happily it's as good as I remember it being, if not better.

Thunderhead is a hearty 6.7% ABV.  It pours a rich golden color with a fluffy quickly dissipating head that leaves behind lots of lacing with every sip. It has all the elements of  an IPA that makes me love them so much . . . a sharp citrus bite, a bit of floral and hoppy bitterness.  It's not super hoppy but the hops are definitely IT with this beer.  But hops are not all there is to Thunderhead . . . the malt lends a light caramelly sweetness that adds balance and character to the beer.  Overall this is a fairly mild IPA as compared to a lot of the other West Coast IPAs I've had that go for BIG, HUGE and sometimes ENORMOUS amounts of hoppiness.  

This is right in the middle . . . somewhere between mellow and big . . . and I like it.  I like it because when combined the relatively light mouthfeel it is an very drinkable beer that goes down easy.

The six pack didn't last very long, I can tell you that!  I like it, I love it, I want some more of it!

Cheers!

Visit Pyramid's website or check them out on Facebook.

New Brew Thursday - Back East Brewing

Hubby and I went to the official Grand Opening of Back East Brewing.  It was a hot, sticky day with thunderstorms looming. Oh boy was I looking forward to some cold, yummy beer!

I don’t know what I was expecting but I was surprised by the volume of people who had shown of the event.  The place was packed.  There were lines of people everywhere . . . a line to get in, a line for each of the tasting stations, a line for the brewery tour . . . a line for everything.  

I’m certainly not finding fault in that.  I am happy for the brewery for having such a successful grand opening.  It was just so oppressive  . . .  both weather-wise and people-wise.

As we entered the gate we got our hand stamped, a cup, and tickets good for six 4-ounce samples.  So far so good!

I shouldn’t have been surprised by this . . . a myriad of politicians showed up to wave and smile and snip ribbons.  Yeah, they’re everywhere . . . especially during so close to an election.

 

We found the end of a line leading to a beer sampling tent and were looking forward with happy anticipation to our first taste of Back East beer.   Hubby and I each selected a different beer . . . I chose the Back East Amber Ale and he got the IPA.

Back East Amber Ale is their Flagship brew.  It had a good strong taste up front but pretty much empty of flavor on the finish.  It was smooth and nicely carbonated but generally lacking . . . something.  It was good but not great.

Misty Mountain IPA.  India Pale Ales are my favorite, so I was really looking forward to a taste.  It has a nice hoppy bitterness but is otherwise missing the other characteristics (citrus, pine, malt) of a good IPA that I’ve come to expect in a good, hand crafted IPA.  Again . . . good but not great.

We drank our beer while waiting in line for the brewery tour and tasting room . . . by this time, the dark clouds are building and I was hoping we got inside before all hell broke loose.  Thankfully, we did. 

We declined to take the tour due to time constraints.  But we did take the opportunity to sample a couple more beers while passing through the tasting room.  We also grabbed a couple bottles of the limited edition imperial stout  . . .  hubby 's favorite style of beer.

This time I grabbed a the Golden ale and hubby got the stout.

The Golden Ale was my favorite among all the beers I tasted.  It was very drinkable . . . crisp, light, tasty.  It was nothing special but it was good.

The Imperial stout . . . it was kind of disappointing.  It had almost no carbonation, watery mouth feel. Smokey but wanting other flavors to compliment it . . . like coffee or caramel or chocolate or toasted malt.

Overall I thought all the beers were good but really nothing special.  I was actually kind of disappointed because I’d been looking forward to this event all week.

Not to be a downer but I  . . . in my honest opinion, for what that’s worth . . . Back East needs to kick it up notch or three.   There are so many new and established craft brewers in Connecticut that are producing some of the best, most creative and amazing flavorful beers.  What I had at the open house simply wasn’t up to the standard I’ve come to expect from the little guys brewing fine craft beer in Connecticut.

Hubby’s take on the quality of the beer is that perhaps they since this was a free event and that the brewery doling out gallons of free samples that maybe they didn’t put forth their best brews. 

On some level that makes sense, but I would think that since it was an open house and the first exposure to their beer for a lot of people . . . myself included . . . that they would want to pour the best tasting beer they make. 

I’ll grab a bottle or two of  Back East Brewing from my local store and give them another give them another go around and see what happens.

Visit Back East Brewing's website or check them out on Facebook

New Brew Thursday - IPA Double Tap . . . Goose Island IPA and Ghandi Bot

The first IPA is Goose Island IPA . . . It's served on tap at our Wednesday wings-n-beer hangout and it's a good honkin' beer.  

This is my second Goose Island review (see other review).  Goose Island was once a little upstart company but is now Anheuser-Busch.  A downside in my book but I still like the brews.



Goose Island’s IPA is an English-style IPA. Although this is an English IPA it is brewed with Centennial and Cascade hops along with a pair of English style hops, four varieties total. It's the Centennial and Cascade hops that give Goose Island IPA a distinctly American flavor.  

The beer is a rich golden color with a white head that hugs the side of the glass leaving very nice lacing behind.   This is an earthy tasting beer with piney, floral, almost grassy flavor with a kind of citrussy pineapple finish.  


It's a pleasant beer to drink, it's perfectly carbonated, medium bodied and refreshing.  Goose Island has very good IPA taste with out being overpowering; not bitter and nicely balance.  


Overall, a good IPA and fits the bill when I'm looking for a little extra flavor.  5.9% ABV






Visit the Goose Island website for more information on this or their other offerings.  Be sure to check out their Facebook page, as well.

The second IPA is Gandhi-Bot which is brewed by New England Brewing Company (see my other NEBC review).


Gandhi-Bot is a heavy hitter as far as IPA's go . . . it's an Imperial style double IPA.  It packs quite a wallup in both flavor and alcohol content (8.8% ABV)

Gandhi-bot pours an amber color.  The full, long-lasting head grabs the glass.  Layer after layer of lacing appears sip after sip.  It looked like a strip mine excavation in my beer glass.


The aroma is OMG hoppy with the flavor to back it up.  My first reaction to the first taste of this beer was "WOW!"  and then "wow!".  Then I settled back and very much enjoyed this brew.

The very piney, very grapefruity, slightly sweet flavor was incredibly well balanced and smooth.  The intense of flavors . . . not for the light weight IPA drinker . . . finish with a lingering hoppy bitterness that begs for another sip.  And then another.

A seriously good IPA.  NEBC has out-done themselves with this one and I'll be keeping a few on hand for an IPA emergency.

I really, really like this one!  Grab yourself a pack and prepare to be wowed!

For more information check out NEBC's website or visit them on Facebook.