Hop Crisis Returns!

 

AMAZING news came through from the Full Pint, 21st Amendment's Imperial IPA Hop Crisis is returning! This is one of my favorite IPA's from one of my favorite breweries. So excited that it is coming back. Be sure to hunt this one down and try it for yourself!

Hop Crisis Returns!

A shave and a beer

This week's review in the Weekender showcases the Carbondale, PA brewery 3 Guys and a Beer'd and their wonderful Loyalty Barber Shop Shaving Cream Ale (a collaboration brew between them and Loyalty Barber Shop in Scranton, PA) it is truly a wonderful and delicious beer, but read the review for the full deal!

Shaving Cream Ale Review

Tröegs Nugget Nectar Review from the Weekender

Another AMAZING brewery, and Pennsylvanian as well, that will be attending the Steamtown Beer and Music Festival is Tröegs Brewing Company, who make some of the best beers on the market right now.  One of their best and most sought after beers is Nugget Nectar and rightfully so... read up on my review from the Weekender that was originally published on January 20, 2013.

The Nectar of the Gods

Can Beer Be Too Hoppy?

The argument is brought forward in this great article from The Weekly Pint. In this age of extremely hop forward beers is it possible we have gone too far?

Bitter Truth

Love them or hate them, hops are here to stay.

Nothing like a good beer-based debate to get people really revved up. In a recent article entitled “Against Hoppy Beer” in Slate, avowed hops-fan Adrienne So laid out a polarizing argument that overly hopped beers are scaring everyday beer drinkers away from the craft segment, by turning up the volume on the old humulus lupulus to 11. True, a lifelong Bud drinker is not very likely to switch to craft beer after one sip of Hoptimus Prime, Leafer Madness, or Hop Stoopid (yes: actual beer names). But hoppy beers are also more popular than ever—IPA is one of the best-selling beer styles in America. It’s something of a tempest in a beer glass, and the jury’s going to be out on this one for a long time.

To each his or her own, we say. If you love hops, go for it. International IPA Day is for you. Hops add some of the most fascinating angles to beer, from earthy to citrus and tropical flavors and aromas to all kinds of bitterness. Some styles we love have almost no hop character whatsoever. Some reach for, and achieve, “Hop Druid” status, and smell exactly like the hop’s groovy cousin in the Cannabaceae family. It’s a case of “Enough! Or Too much,” as William Blake wrote.

What do you think? Have American craft brewers gone overboard with hops?


Originally appeared on The Weekly Pint website: http://www.weeklypint.com/the-weekly-pint/beer-101/bitter-truth-june-2013#continue

Beer Flavoring?

 

I am really not sure on my thoughts about this product, it is to say the least unique.  Apparently you can buy "crappy" beer and make it craft beer with just a few squirts from the bottle.  Just take a look and decide for yourself.

Make Your Own Craft Beer with Just a Few Squeezes

Cheers!

Abita Turbodog Revisited

 

Another fantastic brewery that will be attending the Steamtown Beer and Music Festival is Abita.  In February I reviewed one of their best, and one of my favorite, beers Turbdog.  I thought this was a great beer to revisit, so here is the link to my previous review. Enjoy!

Abita Turbdog 

A Hoppy Wine?

Brewer- Dogfish Head Brewery

Beer- Sixty-One (61)

Style- American IPA

ABV- 6.50%

Interesting Fact- Dogfish Head 61 was born when Dogfish Head owner Sam Calagione was having drinks with friends and poured some wine into a half full glass of Dogfish Head Sixty Minute IPA.  He drank this, loved it (as did others who sampled it) and went about finding a way to make it at the brewery.  61 is exactly that as well, a blend of Sixty Minute IPA and Syrah grape must, a grape used to make a dry red table wine.

Description- Dogfish Head 61 pours red amber like color with a white fluffy head, that has a pinkish hue to it as well, that remains and leaves a nice lacing on the glass.  I poured this into Dogfish Head’s new IPA glass, something worth looking into if you are an IPA fanatic, in my opinion.  The aroma is interesting blending a nice floral hop bouquet with a berry/grape must aroma, if more wine had this aroma I may drink more of it!  The taste is also interesting; the sweet wine/grape flavor dominates up front with a bit of malty sweetness and follows with some citrus zest from the hops.  There is a mild amount of bitterness but is balanced nicely with the sweetness from the grapes.  The body is medium and has a nice amount of carbonation and finishes quite dry, as both good wines and IPA’s do, so I say perfect!  This is definitely worth a try, so if you see it try it out!

Food pairing – The wine and IPA combination make it a little different when trying to pair with meals.  The sweet wine flavor would make this great with chocolate, which it is, and the sixty minute IPA flavor would make it great with a variety of mildly spiced Mexican dishes, which it is, but take it easy on the spices.  Be adventurous with this brew though, if there is a dish you typically enjoy red table wine with, swap a 61 instead and the same can be said for a sixty minute IPA.

Is it worth trying? – Yes! Dogfish Head Brewery is known for pushing the boundaries of what beer can be with its vast choices of ingredients into a wide variety of styles and experiments.  61 falls perfectly into the beer line-up for Dogfish Head and is great for those who are one the fence about beer, but still love wine.  The choice of using the less aggressively hopped Sixty Minute IPA is great to lure in those new to craft beer as well.  It is limited right now in availability, so if you can find it… try it!

 Rating- 

Where can I get it? -  Currently available in bottles at: Exit 190 Beer Deli- Dickson City, PA and  J & H Beer- Wilkes-Barre, PA

Also, Dogfish Head will be at the Steamtown beer and Music Festival.. so stop by the booth and try everything!!

Remember, enjoy responsibly!

Cheers!