This week we discussed hops, hops, and more hops and took a look at how the malt profile, aging, and freshness can effect the presence of hops in the beers. We had quite the lineup and this week to present a great discussion on hoppy beers.
We did the tasting from left to right in the photo above, starting with Tröegs Nugget Nectar and finishing with Stone Enjoy By 02.14.14 IPA.
Tröegs Brewing Company- Nugget Nectar: This imperial amber ale has a great hop punch in the aroma and flavor but is backed with a wonderfully sweet malt bill to subdue the hop bitterness. This much sought after beer was just unleashed upon the public and gets more and more difficult to find each day and with good reason, it is absolutely fantastic! This beer had high marks all around. If you would like to read more check out our own Derek Warren's review on it from the Weekender I'd Tap That- Nectar of the Gods
Dogfish Head Brewery- Burton Baton: This extremely unique beer has 2 threads of beer blended together and aged in oak vats for an extremely wonderful and complex beer. The brewery has 2 separate beers fermenting, one Imperial IPA and one English Old Ale, upon completion of fermentation of both beers, they are blended together and transferred to large oak vats to age for about a month. The hop flavors come across as somewhat subdued but are present in the aroma and taste, but the flavors of vanilla and oak give the beer a fantastic base along with the sweetness from the English Old Ale. This is a beer that can be enjoyed for hours and discussed amongst friends for even longer, which is good because weighing in at 10% ABV, this is certainly a sipping beer!
Green Flash Brewing Company- Green Bullet: This "Triple IPA" was certainly the hoppiest of all the beers with a bitterness that is up front and unashamed. This is also the beer that would be least recommended to those who are new to craft beer or IPA's as this could put you off due to the strong bitterness. However, this is still a great beer and was very well received by our hosts, but the in studio guest was a bit overwhelmed by the bitterness and could not handle it, the 10.1% ABV could have also had a hand in the matter. Certainly a beer to work your way up to, but once you get there it was worth the climb!
Stone Brewing Co.- Enjoy by 02.14.14 IPA- The runaway favorite beer from this weeks lineup. The freshness of the hops was apparent and the bitterness was strong, but was perfectly balanced and very easy drinking. The aroma was one that you will want to bottle and have as an air freshener, notes of pine and grapefruit were the most apparent and they also come across on the tongue, but the sweet and smooth malt washed over the palate to sooth and relieve and keep palate fatigue from setting in and it all wrapped up in a perfectly dry finish. An absolutely world class beer that rivals the best DIPA's on the market!
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