Brew: 2 X IPA
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Double India Pale Ale
ABV:8.2%
Tasting Notes: While easing myself into the world of hoppy delicious craft beer I came across this gem of an IPA. Oddly enough I cant really say when exactly the light bulb moment happened with me when it came to hops. In fact at one point I distinctly recall having a Sam Adams spring variety mixer and completely being turned off by the Pale Ale! Yikes, but at some point it just clicked i guess and I’ve been a hop head ever since! Moving right along… Southern Tier on the whole seems to me to be a very hop friendly brewery. A lot of their takes on different styles have a different and unique hop twist that isnt usually seen. That being said this brew is one of my favorite year round beers from them. It pours a very deceiving gold color that at no point hints at the awesome hoppiness contained within or even the extra zing from the alcohol. If poured the right way this beer will usually have a nice rich creamy white head that loves to hang around for at least a few sips to ensure the beer is being enjoyed properly( if foam had eyes) The nose has a fair amount of piney notes to it with some nice citrus undertones and as the beer warms just a touch of alcohol. For whatever reason I want to say that when its first poured I get a nice wet hop smell from this beer. It has a few alcohol legs when swirled and minimal lacing, for some strange reason that word just makes me think of doilies! So i guess what I’m getting at is that if your looking for doilies in this brew then your going to be disappointed, don’t say i didn’t warn ya!! Surprisingly enough the initial taste I get out of the first sip is malt, that is in turn followed by an incredible rush of hop bitterness! One very nice characteristic of this brew is that it cleans up after itself, minus a touch of heat from the 8.2 ABV and some hops. The mouth feel is hard to place for this beer because to me it almost seems like it goes from a medium bodied brew in the beginning to a lighter one at the end. From a few of the bigger sites out there I’ve read this as being a down side with reviewers saying that it watered the beer down. To me I find that it helps to balance this beer out and land it in my Sessionable sixer classification. This is a brew that will show up and be the life of the party, and when its all said and done it will help clean the puke off the kitchen floor and drop off a few amateurs once the night winds down. Its a hoppy brew with enough class to show itself to the door and not over stay its welcome. We here at GBBH love a good hoppy brew and this one is no exception, our hats are off to all the craft brewers and home brewers that are always pushing the limits on what a hop can do for beer.
~Cheers~
Rating: 4 Hats
Good Beer Better Hats 