HopDevil
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Where: Downingtown, PA
Beer: HopDevil India Pale Ale
Style: American IPA
IBU: N/A (Estimated 80 IBU)
ABV: 6.7%
It's Friday night, it's snowing, and my work has been cancelled for the evening. I guess it's time to have a beer, so I popped the top on a Victory HopDevil India Pale Ale that I picked up at The World Market as part of another mixed sixer. I haven't tried many Victory Beers, but they are definitely on my list.
The HopDevil poured with a rich amber color and a nice creamy tan head. There is an immediate aroma of caramel malt followed by a strong floral hop character. The beer is very hoppy in bitterness, flavor, and aroma, but the Victory website doesn't give up any real information about what gives this beer its kick. It just speaks of American whole flower hops which could include quite a few common varieties used in this style of beer.
When a beer has this level of hops in it, you really do need to let it warm up a little before you really begin to taste any significance of the malt backbone. These pale ales traditionally have a rather simple malt bill consisting of a standard two-row and crystal malted barley. This particular beer really comes alive at 55°.
Table Rock Pale Ale
Brewery: Olde Hickory Brewery
Where: Hickory, North Carolina
Beer: Table Rock Pale Ale
Style: American IPA
IBU: 50
ABV: N/A
I really enjoy it when the guys at my local brewery bottle some of their beers. Today's sampling is one of the original and flagship beers of this brewery. The Table Rock Pale Ale is a nice malty pale ale with an excellent presence of cascade hops. From the bottle:
Table Rock Pale Ale is brewed using the finest two row barley malts with a generous amount of American Cascade hops making a balanced full bodied pale ale with a lively floral aroma and taste.
The guys at the Olde Hickory Brewery have recently bottled some of this beer along with three others from their lineup. I purchased some of each last week so stay tuned...
Thanks Steve and Jason!
Sierra Nevada Torpedo
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Where: Chico, California
Beer: Torpedo Extra IPA
Style: American IPA
IBU: 70
ABV: 7.2%
Today, we are sampling a rather new offering from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. The Torpedo Extra IPA is an American IPA that is loaded down with hops. This beer, in fact, is all about the hops. The Torpedo makes use of Magnum, Crystal, and Citra hops to provide the bold citrus, pine, and herbal character that this beer uses to slap you across the face when you take your first sip. The aroma of this beer alone is enough to make you want to come back for more.
This beer poured with a pale golden color and a thick foamy head that managed to hang around for the duration of the glass. The 7.2% ABV is very nicely masked by the malts in this beer, and even more by the aroma and powerful kick in the ass by the hops. If you have tasted the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, this beer is sorta similar to that one, but with a lot more hop punch... Don't wait too long to try this beer if you are a fan of the style. You won't be disappointed!
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
Here we are at number 101... I haven't had time to drink for critique lately but I hope to get back to doing this 3 or 4 times a week if possible. I don't know if I mentioned it here or not, but I finally got a part time job in x-ray. So, my foot is in the door on my new career path, but it has also kept me very busy, but that schedule is easing up now, so hopefully time for beer will be forthcoming :)
Today's sample is yet another from Bell's Brewery in Comstock, Michigan. The Two Hearted Ale is an India Pale Ale (IPA) that rings in at 7% ABV. This beer poured with a nice orange/gold color with a thick head and an immediate floral aroma from the hops. IPAs are hoppy by nature, so they are heavy on the hop bite and the aroma in most cases. This beer is a lighter bodied ale with a very crisp flavor. The Bell's website doesn't share any detail about the ingredients used.
As far as IPAs go, I think this is a rather nice choice. The floral hop bouquet on this beer impressed me more than most, and the crisp lighter body is also a plus for me on pale ales. The lighter body of the beer allows the hop flavor and aroma to be a more dominating element of the style. My past experience with Bell's beers have been good, and this is no exception...
Sierra Nevada Harvest Wet Hop Ale
I was in Gail's Hops and Grapes again the other day when Monica popped out from behind the counter modeling this beer like one of Bob Barker's Price is Right merchandise models ;) I have learned to watch out for her. She's a hop head. So what did she have for me? Today's selection is Sierra Nevada's 13th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale. Here's the blurb from the website concerning this special release:
The cornerstone of our Harvest series is the beer that started the modern-day fresh hop ale phenomenon in America, our original Harvest Ale.
Created in 1996, Harvest Ale features Cascade and Centennial hops from the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington. These hops are harvested and shipped as "wet" un-dried hops - the same day they are picked - to our brewery in Chico where our brewers eagerly wait to get them into the brew kettle while their oils and resins are still a their peak.
There is no doubt in my mind that Cascade and Centennial hops combine to create an excellent mix of bitterness and aroma. It's a common combination and very worthy of its purpose. This beer is also quite malty as well with a significant punch from the caramel malts that are combined with the two-row pale malts to conjure up this pale ale. The body of this beer is heavier than the average pale ale, and the alcohol levels out at 6.7% ABV. On the hop scale, this beer rings in at 60-65 IBU which defines a nice punch of hop presence as well.
Sierra Nevada makes good beers. In fact, they really do make excellent beers. One of my favorite aspects of Sierra Nevada's brews, especially when it comes to these special releases, is they don't break my bank when I want to give it a try. This 24-oz bomber rang up on Monica's register at $5.09 plus tax.
