"Have we met?" "No." "I think you're right."

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, DE

You know the guy that’s always sitting at the bar? You know, the bar you always go to after work or at least once a weekend? He never sits at a table. He always seems to find a seat at the bar no matter how many people are there. You’ve never seen him arrive, and you’ve never watched him leave. Somehow, though, he will always have a seat, and he will always draw a crowd around him. He’s always cool-headed and doesn’t do anything too exciting and doesn’t go out of his way to start a scene, nor does he go out of his way to do any grand gestures for the other bar-goers. But there he is. Every time you go to the bar, he is there. He’s a guy you’ve thought of talking to numerous times, but you always decide to go another route, just barely making eye contact, just enough to know you’re there. But he notices you, too. He knows you’re at the bar. And he wants to talk to you. What do you do? Well, you sit next to him in that one empty bar stool at the oak-lined bar that hits you in the face with a scent of bleach and thick malt. You sit down. He orders you a 60 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head, a beer you’ve had dozens of times, and you sit, and you listen.

Your new friend, if you can call him that at this moment, is bright and fragrant. His complexion is immaculate, with a certain glow to him that you’ve seen before in magazines and on television shows. You can smell him just sitting there, and you don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s a slight touch of floral citrus hops, and maybe it’s a hint of the alcohol on his breath. You just don’t know. You take him in, though, and you savor his every word. He’s a wise man with a lot to behold, but his front is bitter. You get past that, though, and you dig deeper. He tells you stories you’ve heard before from others before him. Remember–it won’t be the last time you hear these stories. You still try to find something new in the stories. He tells you one of yeasts and beer with so many hops they almost march through your mouth. You agree. He tells you of a slight whiskey finish you can find on guys that are much like him. You agree. He tells you to not read too much into what he’s saying, but he claims he’s actually quite sweet once you get to know him. You again, agree. Things go well. You’re happy.

The talk isn’t enough, but something tells you to leave. There are others at the bar to talk to. There are others downstairs. Maybe even your friends are downstairs. He understands. He knows his place at the bar. He doesn’t need to impress anyone; everyone has already been impressed. Maybe he’s sad, but you doubt it. Whatever his name, though, you don’t learn it, you just know that he’ll be back whenever you need him. He’ll be at the next bar you go to. And the next one. And maybe even the next one. He’s everywhere, and he’ll be there when you need him. Remember that. You will need him. Soon.

Truly a beast.

Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland, OH

Say what you want about Cleveland, OH (and believe me, a lot of it has been and will be said), but the Great Lakes Brewing Company is one of the best breweries in the country. Which makes it a shame that it has to reside in a city that gets such flack and also must be related to Ohio State in some way. Regardless, Great Lakes does not make a beer that is worth passing over. And undoubtedly, some of their consistent stunners are their IPAs. From their Commodore Perry to the Lake Erie Monster, Great Lakes knows how to produce a powerfully hoppy beer with wonderfully well-rounded characteristics. So whenever I’m lucky enough to find the Lake Erie Monster hanging around the shelves even after being released a few months ago, I have no problem with immediately jumping on a beer that packs a wallop at over 9% ABV, but remains incredibly drinkable no matter the temperature outside or the state the beer happens to be from. Have I mentioned yet that I hate Ohio?

Despite my hatred, the Lake Erie Monster really makes up for a lot of the ill-feelings I have toward that lesser state south of Michigan. Pouring a gorgeous and rich-looking cloudy, honey-wheat color that included a thick and frothy cream head atop my pint glass, the Monster set up perfectly as a dastardly IPA. The nose was filled with piney and citrusy hops that could knock over anyone with a top-notch olfactory sense. The taste never disappointed, either, with an instant hop explosion taking over all your senses. A persistent bitterness lingers through the duration of every sip and really adds another dimension for the hops to showcase their intensity. A slight apricot flourish is noticeable underneath some of the more earthy hop tones that brush perfectly against the bed set out by the full-bodied malt. I guess what I’m getting at here is: DELICIOUS.

Definitely not your average IPA or even a standard double IPA, the Lake Erie Monster may take the cake as one of the most delicious, affordable, and dynamic imperial IPAs I’ve ever had. It’s a nice beer to enjoy all summer long, but might even be hearty enough to carry your over into the seasons of dark beers. However, don’t expect me to relate myself with anything from Ohio during football season. For me, that’s just blasphemy. Great Lakes, I’ll see you in the winter.

Ithaca Beer Company in Ithaca, New York

Sorry for all the IPA reviews of late, but to be totally honest I am a hop head and being in New York with access to all sorts of IPAs that I can’t get out in Montana, I have been fairly concentrated on downing them over other types of beer. Although I did go to a nice Belgian beer bar the other night and have some other brews. I also hit up the Rattle-n-Hum where I had probably the worst IPA I’ve ever had: Lagunitas IP fucking A. It tasted a lot like citrus fruit punch: think IPA made by Coors or Bud. I also had an Oaked Arrogant Bastard there that was absolutely delicious. You win some, you lose some. With the Flower Power IPA from Ithaca Beer Company, you win.

The Flower Power poured a slightly hazy, orange amber with an ivory head that left some good looking lacings down the glass as it dissipated. The piney aroma was accompanied by a bit of biscuit in the nose as well as some lemon, orange, and pineapple. What a refreshingly great smell after the stench of NYC on a hot day. For how full bodied the beer is, I’m a little surprised at how mild the taste is. Not that the taste isn’t there and in your face, it just doesn’t fill the mouth and linger like I expected it to. Starting out with a touch of malt sweetness, maybe even a orange/bread taste, the Flower Power crescendos into a tropical bitter wallop, finishing with linger bitter grapefruit that dries the mouth a bit.

I’ve got to say, behind the Blast Pale Ale, the Flower Power is the second best beer I’ve had here. It is incredibly refreshing and surprisingly sessionable for a 7.5% ABV. Those out in Montana may consider trying to do a beer swap on Beer Advocate or just add it to the list for the next time you are in the north east.

Bitter Root Brewing in Hamilton, Montana

For our second day of Bitter Root Week, we’ll be looking at a recent special brew from Bitter Root Brewing: the CTZ Single Hop Pale Ale. The CTZ Single Hop is brewed, as the name would suggest, using only CTZ hops. There have been a few breweries around the state doing such brews, which I think is great for consumers because it helps to educate us on the difference between hop varieties. One great example of late is the Saphir IPA from Blackfoot River, which was brewed just like their regular Single Malt IPA, but with Saphir hops in place of the usual Simcoe and Cascade. In the taproom, they were even serving 8 oz. of each side-by-side so patrons could experience the difference. I love to see brewers and breweries interested in not only making good beer, but also working to make good beer drinkers! So to both Bitter Root and Blackfoot River Breweries I endow a BarBEERians Badge of Brewing Excellence for their efforts to make us all more educated beer drinkers. Alas, I digress, now back tot he meat of the post my review of the CTZ Single Hop from Bitter Root Brewery!

This was my second go around with the CTZ Single Hop and it was even better than I remembered. A truly beautiful beer, it is an unfiltered mellow sunshine with streaks of white lacing that follow the head down the glass. Rising from the glass was a great springtime aroma of sweet grapefruit citrus and pine, though overall the nose was fairly mild. The CTZ was a pleasure to drink during our first BBQ of the season. Light bodied and floral, small carbonation bubbles pranced across the tongue, bringing with them bits of pine that culminated in a big bitter grapefruit finish. What a treat this beer was, though I wish they had waited a few months to brew it so we could be drinking it all spring and possibly well into the summer. It was amazingly light for being 6.3%, but still managed to bring out the flavors I love in an IPA, almost like an hop infused cream ale.

The CTZ Single Hop is a knockout and delightfully delicious and superbly sessionable.  I think it was a be a great introductory IPA for someone who is just starting to develop their beer palate and interested in expanding out of their comfort zone, but isn’t quite ready to make the plunge into some of those super bitter IPAs out there. This weekend when the weather gets nice and sunny out (lets all cross our fingers), all of you Missoulians should consider making the drive down to Hamilton to enjoy a pint or three of the CTZ. Seriously, sun shining. Bitter Root Valley. Delicious Beer. I’ve almost talked myself into it!

Bitter Root Brewing in Hamilton, Montana

I’m going to try something a little different this week guys, and I’m hoping it goes well. If you enjoy it, let me know. If you all don’t like, well let me know that too. Anyway, it is Bitter Root Brewing week here at BarBEERians, so we will be featuring reviews of their beers, current news, and even a review of their recent beer paired dinner! Kicking it off is a review of their Power of Ten Imperial IPA they brewed last fall to celebrate the increase in legal ABV for beer in Montana. One of the other activities I am involved in is coaching a middle school math team, so as far as I’m concerned the concept of the Power of Ten IPA is simply genius. It is an Imperial IPA with an ABV just under 10%, 100 IBUs, and is their 1000th brew! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!

We happened to have a bomber of this one time IPA hanging out waiting for the right time to be cracked. Well that time was mid last week when we had a friend in town and went out to get some dinner at Toi’s Thai, which is a great place because you can bring in your own beer or wine and there is no corking fee! The Power of Ten seemed like a good beer to bring down, because I generally like the pairing of a spicy citrus beer with some spicy food!

The Power of Ten filled the glasses with a cloudy, unfiltered, thick brew the color of sun-bleached golden locks. A strong citrus aroma of primarily grapefruit and pineapple, with some musty/dusty tones foreshadowing a delightfully full flavor profile. The thick mouth feel filled the palate with citrus hops that followed the nose, mostly pineapple with a tinge of grapefruit bitterness and a slight astringency. The malt character was mild, but balanced with the hops which were mostly fruity and not overly bitter. For being 10%, the alcohol character was well hidden, making this imperial IPA incredibly drinkable.

I’m not sure where you can find the Power of Ten anymore, but if you find it, get it. This IPA was very good, and probably the best Imperial IPA I’ve had. I went great with our spicy meal and I imagine it would be fabulous with some spicy-citrus BBQ ribs. If you didn’t get a chance to have this brew, get to lobbing Tony and Jake to do another batch of it this summer or fall, its worth making the trip to Hamilton for.

That time of the week again. Today Blackfoot River Brewing Company has some of their oh so popular Single Malt IPA that has been cask-conditioned pouring from the beer engine. Did I mention they even dry hopped it again while it was in the cask? Well, they did.

Dry hopping is a term describing the direct addition of hops to the beer after the boiling process.  Dry hopping can occur in the fermenter, conditioning tank, or even the keg or cask.  Brewers employ dry hopping in order to increase the hop flavor, and especially the aroma.  This is possible because hop aromas and flavors (from essential oils) are very volatile and dissipate quickly when exposed to heat, oxygen, or the action during fermentation.  Dry hopped beers usually have much more hop flavor and aroma.  At Blackfoot, our Singlemalt IPA has 5 separate hop additions, two of which are dry hop additions after the boiling process.

And for those of you who have been trouble getting some of the firkin beer on firkin Thursdays there is good news on the horizon. The brewers recently ordered more casks and starting April 1st, there will be two firkins available every Thursday.

I’m pretty disappointed I missed out on last week’s firkin of Porter, but alas, that is how it goes sometimes. I’m sure it will make a return in the future. My regret arises from not getting to try any because I was stuck at work all day, and I still haven’t heard any reviews of how it was. So if you are one of the fortunate few, let me know what you thought. If it was anything like the stout, I’ll make sure I’m first in line next time. Anyway, back to the point. Today down at the Blackfoot tap room is some cask conditioned IPA. Its been there before, but you may have missed it, so heres your second chance.

Deschutes Brewery Company in Bend, Oregon

So at some point (I apparently missed the memo), Deschutes Brewery changed its Red Chair IPA to its Red Chair NWPA. I believe it is the same brew simply under a new name. I saw a bottle of it the other day I picked it up, figuring it would make for a good review, especially since we are starting to see the first glimpses of spring/summer here. Later I discovered it was in fact the same beer, and our first review ever was the Red Chair IPA. I decided to go ahead and give it a re-review since it has a new name, and well I technically haven’t reviewed it before. I was pretty giddy about drinking and reviewing this beer because it has been a while since I’ve delved into some new IPA’s or at least anything outside the regulars: Blackfoot and whatever is on tap at the Red Atlas.

We had the Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale out of a little 12 oz. bottle which resulted in small, murky yet transparent orange zest colored samples. Despite the small portions, it packed quite an aroma, with a heavy citrus fruit nose and a floral piny backdrop. Given the refreshing summer smell, I expected a fairly mild bitterness with a lot of orange and grapefruit going on in this brew. To my surprise, it began creamy and smooth with light pine flavoring over a citrus burst, culminating in an intense bitterness that stuck on the back of the tongue.  A delightful little IPA that keeps you drinking. The bitter finish almost left the mouth dry, needing another dose of the Red Chair.

I’m excited to see this out in six pack as opposed to the bombers which we saw of the old Red Chair IPA last summer. The bomber wasn’t quite enough, though a figure a six pack of this would be sufficient for a few people to enjoy in the early afternoon. You’ll definitely want to be careful after a few of these since it weighs in at a nice 6.4% ABV.

Victory Brewing Company in Downington, PA

A while back (OK, a long time back now), Miles reviewed Victory Brewing Company’s Hop Devil IPA. I was the one who picked the beer up from the local store. I had fresh memories in my mind of an intense and flavorful IPA that was one of the better that I had ever tasted out of a pint glass, and naturally, I wanted everyone else to try it. When I came across a wonderful 22oz-er of it at the local market in Montana, I was as equally as pumped to try it as ever. But it was certainly not what I remembered. It was indeed a very nice IPA with a robust flavor profile, but it wasn’t the HOLY SHIT LET’S GET A SWIMMING POOL OF THIS AND DRINK IT FOREVVVVVVERRRR type beer I’d remembered it being. But yesterday, I sat down at a local bookstore/bar for a happy hour and some reading and the bar’s special selection was a pint of Victory’s Hop Wallop IPA. Based on my 50-50 views of Hop Devil, I was hoping that a beer called freakin’ Hop Wallop would floor me like I was expecting. Well, it certainly floored me but not in the best way possible.

Pouring a rather luscious, unfiltered batch of muddied golden sunlight, the Hop Wallop IPA looked like an IPA that really did pack quite a punch. The smell was a bit of a letdown, though, with just a tickling of floral hops traipsing over the olfactory sense. Even so, it was the color that convinced me that I was in for a literal hop wallop, and that is definitely what I got. With one sip, you get rocked back into your seat with the expected bitterness, but with an absolute tsunami of hop flavor that hangs, and hangs, and hangs, and eventually falls off into a grave of mind-numbing, floral-citrus flavor. I swear, you can feel the flavor in the back of your head. I waited a bit before delving into another sip, thinking the temperature the beer was served at was a little cold for the flavors caught inside the brew but even after a subtle warming, that deluge of hop flavor still dominated the beer before cresting and going into a rounder and less intense hop flavor. It took a full glass before I realized that this was it–it was a hop wallop and nothing else.

I might be getting spoiled with all the fully-rounded and multi-faceted dark beers I’ve been delving into lately, but the Hop Wallop was an intense experience of flavor and definition; however, it wasn’t a whole lot more than just shock value. If you are a true hop-head, then this beer might be for you. But as far as my tastes are going right now, I’d like some other subtleties and fluctuations to marry in with the intense hop flavor to give me a beer I’d really write home about. Would I get this again? I like to think so, but mainly for the chance I might be able to discern another flavor characteristic next time. Or say I’m in the mood for a good walloping. Hop style.

Beaver Creek Brewery in Wilbaux, Montana

I know, I know. I told you all this review would be coming sometime last week, and we didn’t have a Montana Monday this week, so lets just move on and celebrate Montana made brews on Wednesday this week. I first had this beer down in Bozeman during the Montana Brewers Association Oktoberfest, where it won the people’s choice award for best beer. Every time since then, when I have had the brews from Beaver Creek, I have been amazed at the quality of beer they crank out for such a small town, and the Redheaded IPA is no exception.

Like I said in the Sippin’ Pumpkin review, our friend happened to be out in West Dakota (read: eastern Montana), stopped in at the brewery and was kinda enough to share some of this rare brew with us. It poured a deep amber with solar flare orange tinges to it, all topped off with a thick off-white head. Wafting up from the bubbles was a pine garden aroma, but the sort of pine garden where someone had a few cannabis plants growing. Hitting the palate, it blasted through like a hop whirlwind. Starting with a floral pine taste that transitioned into a slightly fruity finish, with heavy bitterness running through the whole thing.

Beaver Creek is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries in Montana, even though I haven’t been there. After our trip through western Montana this past weekend, my next brewery I need to get to is Beaver Creek. I also need to get my MBA card punched. Gotta catch them all!