Huma-lupa-licious by Short's Brewing

A great floral, hoppy beer I picked up while in Frankenmuth, MI. A knotch below Two Hearted and IPAs of that caliber, but I'd love to be able to get this off the shelf. Solid as all get-out It tasted even better in my Michigan glass.

P.S. If you're ever in Frankenmuth, stop by the Lager Mill. It's the best craft beer store in the city and they have an amazing selection of Michigan-brewed beers that aren't available here in Cincinnati

Day 75 (10/7/2011): Grapefruit Jungle by Sun King Brewing Company

The hops continue!After Zombie Dust and White Rajah, I'm onto Grapefruit Jungle. A buddy picked some of this up at the brewery a week or so ago and graciously offered me a can. Very nice of him, considering it was more than $4.00 a can.

There is most certainly grapefruit on the nose, along with a slight sweetness. It's not super hoppy, but it's fragrant enough to warrant the name of the beer. The taste is grapefruit hops and s pale malt sweetness, but not much else. The malt backbone is definitely solid, there is no doubt about that. Both carbonation and body is medium; just about right for what it is.

I think this really suffers from following those two world class hoppy beers. While Grapefruit Jungle is a good beer, it doesn't have the complexity or balance of the other two. At a more reasonable price, I would happily drink this if it was available to me in Cincinnati (it's not, of course), but at more than $15.00 for a four-pack, it's just not doable. There are just too many good IPAs out there to pay that much. Despite that, I give Grapefruit Jungle by Sun King Brewing Company a B+.

Style: American IPA
Beer Advocate: A
Ratebeer: No Score (requires more ratings)

Day 74 ( 10/6/2011): White Rajah by The Brew Kettle

I'm going to preface this review by going big: in my opinion, this is possibly the best Ohio-brewed beer that is widely distributed. If not the best beer in general, it is certainly the best Ohio-brewed IPA and it's not even a close competition.

On the back of the bottle it states that malts will take a back seat. They are not kidding. This is your prototypical West Coast IPA, except that it's better than most West Coast IPAs that are actually brewed on the West Coast instead of Strongsville, Ohio. Its smell and taste both err on the side of citrus fruits rather than the floral hops found in Midwest/East Coast IPAs. In addition to the grapefruit and other citrus fruits, there is a slight caramel sweetness there, but it does indeed take a back seat to the fresh,earthy, spicy hops. The taste is fruitiness up from with a slight sweetness that fades into a bitter finish. It's almost like chewing on a grapefruit wedge with a bit of sugar on it. Both the body and carbonation are appropriate from the style and contribute to a very refreshing experience.

I could not be happier that I am going to be able to buy six packs of this going forward. The Brew Kettle really surprised me with this offering. I haven't really enjoyed anything else from them in the past, but this is just phenomenal. It's one of the best West Coast IPAs I've had the pleasure of drinking, locally distributed, and is pretty affordable (just over $10 for a six-pack). If production keeps up with demand, TBK is going to have a very good thing going for it for a very long time. Kudos to them for putting out such an awesome product. Other area breweries should  take notice. I give White Rajah by The Brew Kettle an A.

Style: American IPA
Beer Advocate: A
Ratebeer: 97/96

Day 31 (8/24/11) Smuttynose IPA "Finest Kind" by Smuttynose Brewing Company

Nothing much to see here today, folks. I had a Smuttynose IPA while I was out for dinner while enjoying a delicious burger from Gordo's up in Fairfied after a quick stop at Jungle Jim's. I definitely wasn't in the position for reviewing, but it was delicious. Based on my initial impression and its stellar rating, I'm going to have to revisit this soon!

A more proper review will be coming tonight for something else!

Day 28 (8/21/2011): Modus Hoperandi by Ska Brewing Co.

I'm always down for trying new beers in cans. The concept of good beer being packaged in cans is still a novel enough idea to me that it's always exciting to try one that others recommend. Modus Hoperandi has well above-average scores on both Beer Advocate and Ratebeer, so I figured I was in for a treat when this was in a box I received a few weeks back.

It poured a golden orange with a just-barely-offwhite head that just didn't quit. It hung around for quite some time, leaving some nice sticky lacing on the glass as it settled down into a nice bibbly ring on the surface of the beer. The nose is actually quite balanced, with pine and citrus (lemon and grapefruit) hop notes and a slight breadiness and caramel maltiness.

The taste is what can be expected from the smell: a not quite balkanced beer, which is quite alright. I don't think this one is supposed to be balanced. The hops purposefully take the spotlight here, though the malts lead the pack. The slight sweetness is followed by fruity hops, and finishes with a dry pine flavor which is just a tad too bitter and long lasting for my tastes. I would have liked the fruitiness to be in the spotlight more than the pine finish, but I suppose not everyone likes their IPAs the way I do.

The body and carbonation are right about middle of the road. It is somewhat creamy, which is strange with the dry finish.

This is most assuredly a solid IPA, which if available here would be close to tops on the beach rotation. It is nice to see the offerings put forth in cans getting better and better. Let's hope it stays that way. I give Modus Hoperandi by Ska Brewing Co. a B+.

Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 65
Beer Advocate: A-
Ratebeer: 97/97

Acquired via a generous Beer Advocate from Oregon. I do not believe it is distributed in Ohio or Kentucky.

Day 24 (8/17/2011): Terminal Gravity Brewing Company Pale Ale and IPA

 I'm going to mix it up and do a side by side of two beers from the same brewery I tried the other night.

The first of these was the pale ale from Terminal Gravity Brewing. Surprisingly, as this is a West Coast offering, this is an English (as opposed to American) pale ale.

It pours a cloudy amber with a half inch cream head. This is bottle conditioned, so the yeast lends a lot of cloudiness to the color. The smell is a caramel sweetness, with a solid biscuit-y malt backbone. There are hops, but they seem the the tamer variety used in English ales than the bolder, resiny types found in American, and in particular, West Coast beers.

It is a very malt-forward, with a honey sweetness coupled with a slight tinge of citrus hops. Very tasty.

The mouthfeel is a tingly medium carbonation, with a medium-full body. It's thicken than your typical pale ale, but that thickness goes well with the maltiness.

The second offering from Terminal Gravity is an IPA. This is far more "American-style" than the pale ale, utilizing a more hop-forward smell and taste.

The beer pours a murky pale copper (again, the bottle conditioning) with one finger of khaki head. the color is a shade lighter than the pale ale, as is evident in the pictures. The smell is very complex; the hops have a very fruity and citrus scent and the malt brings a sugary honey and caramel smell.

The taste is very fruity hops up front with a bread-y malt finish. There is a slight bitterness, but unlike other IPAs, this one is balanced well with the malts. You can tell this one is a West Coast IPA, but it has far better balance than most in its class from that side of the country.

It has a relatively typical IPA mouthfeel: medium-high carbonation and medium body. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

These are very good beers from a small brewery who knows how to do it right. If this was my local brewery, I would be ecstatic. To throw off convention and brew a malt-forward pale ale in a part of the country that worships hops is a bold and brave statement, and they pull it off. Neither of them are the best beers I've ever tasted or even the best in their category, but I would definitely drink these again and I would pay for them.

I give Terminal Gravity Brewing Company's Pale Ale and IPA each a B+

Style: English pale ale
ABV: 6.1%
IBU:
Beer Advocate: B
Ratebeer: N/A (Too few reviews)

Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.9%
IBU:
Beer Advocate: B+/B+
Ratebeer: 96/93

Acquired via a generous Beer Advocate in Oregon. Not distributed out this way.

Day 20 (8/12/2011): Caldera IPA by Caldera Brewing Company

I was really, really surprised I didn't care for this beer as much as I thought I would.. I've seen it on the shelves before around Cincinnati and I had been meaning to try it. After receiving it as a surprise in a box, I decided to give it a whirl.

It pours a nice crystal clear amber-red with a fluffy head. As it recedes, it leaves a nice lacing. The smell is fruity hops with a sweet, malty undertone.

The taste is what put me off this beer. It has all of the hoppiness of the smell with none of the sweetness. It doesn't seem particularly balanced to me, especially when the finish is so bitter.

The body and carbonation are about typical for an American IPA: medium and medium-light, respectively.

Over all, this beer is just not balanced enough, in my opinion. The very bitter finish is unappealing to me. I realize it is a West Coast American IPA, but the best beers of that style always have a strong malt backbone to even out the hop overload. Not in this case. I give Caldera IPA by Caldera Brewing a B-.

Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.1%
IBU: 94
Beer Advocate: B+
Ratebeer: B+

Acquired via a box from a very generous Beer Advocate in Oregon. I believe I have seen this in Cincy/NKY before, though, so you should be in good shape if you would like to try it.

Day 17 (8/10/11): Vortex IPA by Fort George Brewery

It seems that craft beer is kindling a growing love affair with cans. Their merits of canning instead of bottling has already been discussed ad nauseam, so I'm going to leave that alone and just deal with the beer inside this can. I have never even heard of Fort George Brewing, but I know I like West Coast IPAs, so I figured I would be pleased.

Vortext pours a murky amber with a billowing, off-white head. I had to let it die down a bit before I could pour most of the pint-sized can. It looks like there is a great deal of sediment in the beer itself, judging by the floaties that are suspended. They never really sank down the the bottom of the glass so I just went ahead and drank the beer, floaties and all.

The smell of this is fantastic. It is pretty much all hops, with a mix of citrus fruitiness and pine. It's not a balanced smell, but it is great regardless. This smells like a hop lover's dream.

The taste is surprisingly balanced. The big and bold hop flavors are tempered partially by some pale malt sweetness. It's definitely not completely balanced, as the hops leave a somewhat unpleasant bitter finish on the tongue, but much more so than I would have expected from the nose. The hops here steal the show with not just floral, pine, or fruity notes, but all of them together. They definitely mixed their hops well when putting this one together.

The mouthfeel is pretty typical for an IPA. The carbonation is medium, but smooth, and the body is medium if not medium-low.

I was on the fence between an A- and a B+ for Vortex, but leaned for the lower score. This is a really good smelling and tasting beer, but between the sediment (that you aren't warned about on the can) and the bitter finish, I just can't justify an A or A- when there are so many great IPAs out there. If they filtered this one and managed to reduce the bitterness while not compromising the great flavors, Vortex would be up there with some of the best IPAs I've ever drank. Despite that, I'd still drink this if I ever had the chance. I give Vortex IPA by Fort George Brewery a B+.

Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.4%
IBU: 97
Beer Advocate: A-
Ratebeer: 94/87

Received in a box from a very, very generous Beer Advocate in Oregon. I have no idea what its distribution is, but it's not here.

Day 8 (8/1/2011): Alesmith IPA

If my beer drinking career was Craiglist, my experience with Alesmith IPA would be in "Missed Connections". Another Ratebeer top 100 beer, I was lucky enough to have found a bottle of this at Dilly Cafe a year ago. I brought it home, and to my extreme sadness, watched about 75% of it gush out of the bottle when it was opened. I have no idea if it was because the bottle conditioning of the beer, an infection problem, or what, but pretty much all of the beer was wasted and what was left didn't take very good.

I hoped that this was a fluke and have been looking for a fresh bottle since. This is pretty difficult since Alesmith doesn't date their bottles (more on that later). I finally got my hands on a bottle last week and hoped that I actually got to drink it this time.

Alesmith IPA is bottle conditioned, meaning that it is bottled with live yeast. This gives the beer a cloudy tint when pouring. The head is a slight off-white is stands strong, with a little lacing after it dissipates. Strangely enough I don't get a ton of hop smell. There is clearly some, but the yeast smell coupled with a little bit of green apple. Not what I was hoping for and not what I was expecting.

The taste is a little better, but the hop flavor still are lacking immensely. It almost seems like you get the hop bitterness without much of the pungency or other flavors from it. At this point, I'm convinced that this is an older bottle. It is pretty balanced; nothing groundbreaking here.

It has medium carbonation and a light body; very refreshing if nothing else. It is a very dry beer, despite the malt sweetness.

Clearly I have terrible luck with this beer. For the price, I don't think I will ever buy another bottle of it until Alesmith gets with the program and gets their bottles dated. That goes with all breweries: bottle date your IPAs! No one wants to drink a year old beer with all of its hops degraded. If I get a chance to try this on tap, I'll jump at the opportunity, but you know what they say: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...)

I give Alesmith IPA a B-. Not terrible, but frankly, not very good. Certainly does not live up to the expectations.

Style:American IPA
ABV: 7.25%
IBU: ?
Beer Advocate: A
Ratebeer: 100/100

Acquired via trade from a Beer Advocate in California. Thanks! Alesmith products are distributed in Ohio. Remember to ask your store when they received their last shipment in so you don't get burned!

Day 3 (7/27/2011): Blind Pig IPA by Russian River Brewing Company

 

So after a rough start to the reviewing, I decided I needed to drink something I knew I would enjoy. After a good beer haul I received from California earlier in the week, I knew exactly what I wanted to try. Blind Pig is the little brother of Pliny the Elder, the world class double IPA from Russian River. I've tried the latter on a couple occasions, but never the former. Does Blind Pig live up to the hype built up from Russian River's other beers? I hoped so.

Cracking the bottle, I could smell the citrus pungency of the hops before I even pour it into my glass. Into the glass, the smell gets even more complex with scents of tropical fruits and pine. It definitely smells like a hop bomb. The color is a pale orange, crystal clear, with a little under an inch of bright white head.

The taste surprises me, but this time in a good way. The complex hop scent is here in the taste, but balanced perfectly with a solid pale malt profile. It's got all the hoppiness you could want without being bitter at all; I'm impressed. Hops up front and the malts finish the show with a pleasant slight sweetness. Carbonation isn't as intense as I'm used to, but between that and the medium body, this makes for one of the smoothest IPAs I've ever had the pleasure of drinking.

So does Blind Pig live up to the rest of the Russian River family of beers, the ratings on both beer sites, and its annual inclusion on the Ratebeer Top 100 list? That answer is a unequivocal 'Yes'. This is easily one of the best IPAs I have ever drank before. It manages to achieve the difficult task of being complex enough for the serious craft beer drinker, while at the same time not being too intense for those just getting into this wonderful world.

A beer doesn't always have to be expensive, >10% ABV, super hoppy, or barrel aged to be good. Some of the best beer is the stuff you wouldn't mind drinking every day. If Blind Pig was distributed here, I would probably always have a few bottles of it in my fridge. In fact, as an everyday beer (in my opinion), it easily surpasses Pliny the Elder. It's just that solid.

So, for the first time, A Beer a Day has success. I give Blind Pig IPA by Russian River Brewing Company an A. If you are ever in California or anywhere else this is distributed, you owe it to yourself to grab a few bottles.

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: ?

Beer Advocate: A

Ratebeer: 100/100

Acquired via a trade from a very generous Beer Advocate from California.