The Hop Talk

04/20/2018

Echigo Beer Co. - Flying IPA
ABV: 5.5%, IBUs: NA
Brewery: Niigata-shi, Niigata Japan
Style: American IPA
Overall: 70/100

Taste: It starts off with a watery, malt flavor that has a really light mouthfeel that doesn't really provide much flavor. After this, there is a wall of piney bitterness that hits pretty hard with a decent amount of grapefruit sweetness. The finish is bitter, but not necessarily in a good, hoppy way, but more of a astringent, alcohol flavor.

Overall: well, I took a chance on a random Japanese beer at a grocery store in Tokyo and I struck out. The aroma would lead you to believe that this was a drinkable, decent beer, but the flavor corrects that poor assumption rather quickly. Long story short, don't just pick a beer because the art on the outside is really cool (I mean, it's a dragon drinking a beer).

04/05/2018

Say it ain't so!! Green Flash was one of the breweries that really got me liking a lot of different styles of beer, especially because of their Cellar 3 barrel aged beers. While I'm sure Green Flash and Alpine beers will still be on the shelves, it will be under new management and an overall sad day for California beer drinkers.

The troubled Green Flash brewing operation has been sold to a new company following a foreclosure.

04/02/2018

Sierra Nevada is revolutionizing the perfume business this April! I know I'm going to buy this, who wouldn't want to smell like hops every day!

12/15/2017

AB InBev recently announced their new “Elevate” program, coming out of their The High End division (aka the division that buys craft breweries). The program basically aims to create awareness around their “craft” beer and cider products centered around making craft beer a “stronger, safer, more sustainable category”. The craft beer industry is already strong and the main entity weakening it, is AB InBev, so that’s a little confusing. It sounds like they basically decided on some super broad, meaningless buzz words and hoped it sounded good.

However, I am all for this plan. This will really help us identify breweries that are owned by AB InBev so we can skip over them in the beer aisle. Hopefully, they put a big sticker on all their brands, like the Brewers Association Certified Independent seal that independent craft breweries can put on their cans and bottles.

Craft beer has taken off over the past five years, with the industry now boasting over 6,000 craft breweries in the US alone, 700 of which opened in the past year. In order to continue this momentum, Anheuser-Busch has launched Elevate, an initiative that aims to take craft brewing to the next level...

12/13/2017

Biëryoncé – a German Pilsner inspired by Queen B, brewed by the all-female brewery, Lineup Brewing, was officially given a cease and desist letter over the name. This is the type of thing you expect when breweries use Star Wars related names (Disney is having none of that – only they can shamelessly plug their movies). It is a little disappointing that Beyoncé can’t just take the complement.

When Beyoncé gives you lemons...

12/09/2017

I am not personally a fan of craft beer cocktails, mainly because I would rather just drink the beer than have it be mixed with other things, but I do see it regularly so some people must enjoy it. Most of the ones that I have tried are fruity IPAs with juices or liqueurs added in a shaken up, watering down the beer and often shaking out carbonation.

What’s your take on the craft beer cocktail?

A craft beer cocktail, in case you’re not familiar, is an (often alcoholic) beverage that uses craft beer as an ingredient.

12/03/2017

Green - Tree House Brewing
ABV: 7.5%, IBUs: 90
Style: IPA
Brewery: Charlton, MA
Score: 98/100

It started off with a distinctly fruity, citrus flavor mostly oranges and pineapple, giving it a very sweet, tropical flavor. After this, there was a slight earthy malty flavor, giving the Green name some meaning . Lastly, there was a very light hoppy bitterness on the back of the tongue, that gives way to the lingering citrus flavors.

Overall: this was a supremely refreshing, juice forward beer that's aroma was pungent and had a flavor that matched! This is definitely one of the best New England IPAs I've ever had with a whole lot of tropical fruit and a slight malty middle. The hop finish could have been a little stronger, but that is a small blemish on an otherwise amazing beer.

Thanks for bringing this back from Boston for me

11/30/2017

Boulder based Avery Brewing announced that it is partnering with Madrid based Mahou San Miguel, selling a 30% stake in the brewery. The financial terms weren't disclosed, but founder, Adam Avery said that the funds will be used for "Appreciation" bonuses for employees, partially paying off a $35M debt for a new brewery, and investing in sales and marketing efforts.

Technically, this means that Avery is no longer a craft brewery as the 30% stake no longer makes it independent. While this is a clear break, I doubt there will be much backlash from most craft beer drinkers. Founders also had a 30% stake bought by Mahou San Miguel and their image hasn't seemed to be too tarnished too badly.

What do you think of the partnership?

One of Spain's leading beer brewers acquired a 30 percent stake in Avery Brewing Co. as part of a mutual decision to help the Boulder brewery's future growth.

10/05/2017

Firestone Walker - Leo v. Ursus Adversus
ABV: 8.2%, IBUs: 55
Type: Imperial IPA
Brewery: Paso Robles, CA
Score: 94/100

Review: To start it off, there was a burst of tropical fruit flavors that gave the front some sweetness, mostly pineapple and passion fruit. After this, there was a small amount of maltiness that added to the sweetness. Lastly, there was a decent amount of bitterness on the back of the tongue, mainly a sharp grapefruit citrus flavor with some small hints of pine.

Overall: For being an Imperial IPA, this was a highly drinkable beer with a lot of popping citrus, tropical fruit, and malty flavors that blended together well. It was a nice mix of West Coast IPA and lighter, tropical IPA. Honestly, I would expect nothing less from Firestone Walker.

10/02/2017

Kern River - Shuttle Bunny
ABV: 8.5%, IBUs: 70
Brewery: Kernville, CA
Type: Imperial IPA
Overall: 86/100

Review: It started off with some light,sweet malty flavors on the front, mostly tropical fruit of mango and pineapple. After this, there was a distinct earthy flavor to it that had some other floral notes mixed in. Lastly, there was a quick hoppy bite on the back of the tongue that was rather fleeting, leading to a light citrusy and floral finish.

Overall: for an imperial IPA, it was on the lighter side with the sweet tropical fruit playing way more a role than the normal hoppiness of IIPAs. It was an interesting beer that had a lot of flavors you wouldn't normally find in this style, but I wish the those flavors had a little more pop.

08/23/2017

What a great way to support your alma mater! New Mexico State has teamed up with microbrewery, Bosque Brewing to license their own craft beer to be sold at games and other fundraising events. The beer, Pistol Pete's 1888 Ale (named after their mascot and the year it was founded) is a blonde ale.

Other universities are following suit and beginning to turn to alcohol sales at sporting events to raise funds. If they are going to begin selling alcohol at games, they might as well ride craft beer's popularity.

Does your alma mater have its own craft beer?

Cans of Pistol Pete’s 1888 Ale will be available locally and statewide early next year.

08/10/2017

HenHouse IPA
ABV: 6.9%, IBUs:40
Brewery: Santa Rosa, CA
Overall: 92/100

Review: similar to the aroma, there was a thick malty flavor, giving it a mix of toffee and fruits, mainly tropical fruit like mangos and passion fruit. After this, there was a light bitterness on the back of the tongue that had a small amount of citrus to it. To finish it off, there was an earthy flavor with a hint of pine, but it was fleeting and overpowered by the tropical fruit.

Overall: this was a very enjoyable IPA with a good balance of malty tropical flavors and a little bitterness at the end. The pine flavors described on the can weren't very apparent, but that didn't really take anything from the beer. On top of that, the aroma was also top notch, matching the flavor to a tee.