Kev's Beer of the Week - Perpetual IPA

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 6/22/12

 

Troegs Brewing Perpetual IPA

Kev Rating: A
Style: Imperial Pale Ale
ABV: 7.5%
IBUs: 85

Availability:  Now part of their year round lineup - moved from 22oz to 6packs!
Had: Purchased 6pack at Gordon's in Watertown
Region: Hershey, PA

I've been a fan of Troegs beers for a few years now.  They have some good offerings and some spectacular offerings.  Perpetual and Nugget Nectar are their two most sought after brews.  While I love both, Perpetual is the beer of the week this week. 

I first had Perpetual as a 22oz bomber and loved it.  While it flew off the shelves I was lucky enough to have it a few times.  Well, it seems everyone loved it because Troegs added Perpetual IPA to their year-round lineup!  This is great news for IPA fans.  

Perpetual starts off nice and earthy and opens up into really smooth grapefruit and citrus notes.  This IPA is crisp, clean, and goes down super smooth (careful it's almost 8%).  It finishes with a bit of caramel malt and a touch of bitterness.  

I struggle to only have one of these at a time as they're just so damn tasty.  A perfect example of an IPA that leans to the grapefruit/citrus side vs. the piney, resiny side.  I highly recommend Perpetual and am so excited it's now in 6 packs!!!

Kev's Beer of the Week - Deviant Dale's

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 4/6/12

Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's

Kev Rating: B+
Style: Double/Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.00%
IBUs: 85

Availability:  Spring, pretty tough to get your hands on it once it's gone
Had: 4-pack, picked up at Gordon's in Watertown
Region: Longmont, CO

Don't judge a book by it's cover.  For the longest time, beer in a can = bad (or just good for copious amounts of drinking, typically outdoors).  However, there has been a big can resurgence among craft brewers.  Oskar Blues has been all about the can since their inception in 2002 (distribution not just the brew pub (1997 if you're checking my facts)).  If you're a craft beer fan, you've probably seen their cans on the shelves - Dales Pale Ale, Old Chub, Mama's Lil' Yella Pils, GUBNA, and my favorite Ten FIDY.

I had heard rumors that Deviant Dale's would be coming our way and was very excited when I saw the email from Tom over at Gordon's!  Cracking one open, I immediately could smell the citrus & piney hops.  The first few sips, while really nice were a bit disappointing for me.  I was really looking forward to a big Double/Imperial IPA.  What I found was a low level DIPA but a really strong IPA.  I don't know if it will hold up against some of the powerhouse DIPAs I've had recently, but I would definitely pick it up again.  It's a really tasty IPA with strong bitterness and citrus & earthy hops.  I highly recommend this one, not only as a canned beer, but a solid beer overall!

Below are some of the reasons Oskar Blues is pro-can:

• Cans keep beer incredibly fresh by fully protecting it from light and oxygen
• Cans are highly portable, allowing craft beer lovers to easily enjoy great beer in places where glass bottles are not ideal or allowed: the beach, pool, boats, trails, rivers, slopes, hot tubs, bath tubs, golf courses and so on…
• Unlike cans of old, the modern aluminum can is lined with a water-based coating so beer and metal never touch, and there is no exchange of metallic flavor
• Cans are the most easily and frequently recycled beverage package in the world, free of glass breakage issues, and less fuel-consuming to ship (cans enable Oskar Blues to reduce its fuel costs and carbon footprint for shipped beer by 35%)
  • A recycled aluminum can generates 95% less pollution than one made from scratch and requires 96% less energy
  • 1 recycled can saves the energy equivalent of 6 ounces of gas, or the electricity to power a guitar amplified for 2 hours

Kev's Beer of the Week - Double Crooked Tree IPA

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 3/23/12

Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA

Kev Rating: A
Style: Double/Imperial IPA
ABV: 13.60% (not for the faint of heart or amateurs)
IBUs: 98

Availability:  February, but limited.  I have seen it at a few of the more serious Craft Beer stores in the area
Had: 4-pack, purchased from Glendale Liquor's in Waltham, MA
Region: Marshall, MI

Ok, so I guess I've not only been on an IPA kick lately, but a Double/Imperial IPA kick!  Last week I showcased the Sierra Nevada Hoptimum.  This week, we take it up a notch with the Double Crooked Tree IPA.  While the Hoptimum was a screaming hopfest, the Double Crooked Tree IPA is a well balanced hoppy & malty beer.  The nose was full of citrus and piney hops.  The first sip was actually way more smooth than I expected, more caramel then big ole hops.  Don't worry though, the hops are there - just masterfully balanced.  The finish is very satisfying - clean & crisp!  Tread VERY LIGHTLY with this one, it is far from a session beer at 13.6%, but it did cap off the night for me very nicely.  I highly recommend seeking out a 4-pack or single (if allowed) of this beer as it's quite the example of a GREAT Double/Imperial IPA.

Kev's Beer of the Week - Hoptimum

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 3/16/12

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

Kev Rating: A-
Style: Double/Imperial IPA
ABV: 10.40% (sneaky high)
IBUs: 100

Availability:  Rotating, but difficult to get your hands on them on the East Coast.  They are at select Craft beer stores right now.
Had: 4-pack, purchased from Gordon's in Waltham, MA
Region: Chico, CA

This is an INTENSE hop experience.  I see why they sell it in 4-packs!  What surprised me most about this one is that the nose was pretty calm.  The other night I was enjoying the Alesmith IPA and Bex from across the couch was like, "WHOA - that's hoppy!".  This one I had her sniff to be sure I wasn't losing my sense of smell, and she had no such reaction.  HOWEVER, upon first sip I was greeted or smacked or frying panned to the head with major hop overdose.  This is NOT for the faint of heart.  However, after the few waves of hops (piney, resiny, sticky, floral, & citrus) the assault is complete.  This is a great example of Sierra Nevada not being afraid to roll the dice, this beer is not for everyone...but damn did I like it!  Cheers!

Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale

I first saw the packaging on this beer and thought, that's funny - "Holiday Sucks" ha ha, yeah sometimes.   At the time I just passed it by and purchased something else.  Then I kept seeing it, so I picked it up.  

After reading up on this one I soon realized it was "Lagunitas Sucks" Holiday Ale and not a Grinch-like holiday statement.  Lagunitas explains, "There is nothing cool about screwing up this badly and we know it. Maybe we can sue our own sorry selves. There is no joy in our hearts this holiday and the best we can hope for is a quick and merciful end. F*@& us." This response was in regard to recent expansion plans that made them unable to brew the popular, yet difficult to make Brown Shugga'.  So instead of not putting out a Holiday Ale, they threw together this gem of an IPA.

This one is a big ole hop fest.  Upon first sip, I was smacked with some pine & citrus hops.  It calms a bit as you're drinking it, probably due to a small amount of lighter styled malts.  Then it ends with a bitter, clean, but still hoppy finale.  

Sucks started flying off of shelves and it's actually pretty tough to find right now, although I think another shipment hit stores in MA recently as I started to see it pop up again.  If you haven't had the chance to try this one and you like hoppy IPAs, you really should try to nab some before they're all gone.  Because of the popularity of this one, I'm hoping that it gets added to the Lagunitas lineup, but they do have a few worthy IPAs already (IPA, Maximus) if you miss out on this one.

Kev Rating: B+
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 7.85%

IBUs: 62
Availability:  Hit or miss at most decent Craft beer sections.  Will get harder to find as we get away from the Holidays.
Had: 6 pack (few times) purchased at Gordon's in Watertown, Martignetti's in Allston, and Gordon's in Waltham.
Region: Petaluma, CA