Beer Sampling - Southern Tier Unearthly IPA

I should follow-up with my comments two posts ago about my collection of beer presently and all the catching up I have to do on this blog (with beer content, of course). I managed to kind of snicker away a few Southern Tier Brewing Co. beers after our trip back east this summer. That is, after I dragged them all back to CO. The brewery is awesome...certainly one of the best in the NE-Mid-Atlantic area, in my humble opinion.

After a busy few days and some household chores, I decided to reward myself with my 3-months young Southern Tier Unearthly IPA. "Another IPA!", you say...yes indeedy...I'm hop-driven. I poured this bad boy in to a fluted pint (again, see below) and discovered some serious olfactory joy. The beer smells like fresh hops and sweet malt, with the latter coming through almost moreso upon consumption. Unearthly poured almost deep copper...practically redish but still retaining some shiny hues. The head was perfect...a solid one-inch of lacy goodness. The beer is balanced, complete, sweet and bitter...one of the best IPAs have tried 'new' in a long time. If you happen upon one of these, definitely pick it up. I can only imagine how good the oak-aged Unearthly is...

Here are the notes from Southern Tier's website:


ABOUT THE BEER
STYLE: Imperial India Pale Ale
BREWED SINCE: 2006
ABV: 9.5%
FERMENTATION: Ale yeast, two types of malt, four varieties of hops
COLOR: Light copper
EFFERVESCENCE: Medium carbonation
NOSE: Sweet malts, piney hops, a bit grassy
FLAVOR: Lightly sweet, caramel, big hops linger, peppery
BITTERNESS: High
BODY: Medium-bodied, but dense, resinous.
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 42°F
GLASS: Fluted glass
AVAILABILITY: Year-round / 22oz / 1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
CELLARING: 35-40°F

Great work Southern Tier...you've once again hit another beer out of the park. Cheers!

Beer Sampling - New Belgium/Alpine Beer Co. 'Super IPA'

Last Friday, I enjoyed a New Belgium 'Lips of Faith' series collaboration with Alpine Beer Co. beer. It's called a 'Super IPA' and at 9% and 99IBUs, it would appear, at least mathematically, pretty super.

I poured this guy out in to my 'snifter-pint' glass (see image below) and took my notes. There are some nice, golden hues here, a soft head with some great lacing overall. It smells dry-hopped to me, and of course it is. According to the bottle, it's a "triple dry hopped Imperial IPA bursting with Columbus, Amarillo, Centennial and Simcoe hops."

From the New Belgium site:


The Alpine Beer Co. and New Belgium have come together for the love of IPAs. This collaboration is hop-wonderful with Amarillo, Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial hops, bringing the bitter all the way to the front. A nice balance Is present with Pale, C-80 and Carapils malts, but the tropical and citrus tones of the American hops dominate. This Super IPA pours a sheened copper and carries a bright, white head. Consider yourself a hero for getting an  Alpine beer outside of San Diego.

Just the facts Ma'am...
Birthdate - August, 2012
ABV - 9.0%
IBU - 99
Calories - 265
Hops - Columbus, Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial
Malts - Pale, C-80, Melanoidin, Acidulated, Carapils
Body - Medium-Light
Aroma - Hop domination: dark dank pine, fresh cut grass, citrus, herbal, slight hints of fresh sweet bready malt character in the background.
Mouthfeel - Almost coating from the crazy amount of essential hop oils, warm in the palate and belly from that 9+%ABV, firm and enduring bitterness.
Flavor - Bitter and Boozy Baby! The malt sweetness tries so hard just to brush against the hop bitterness without countering its cause in this SUPER IPA!
Visual - Golden sunflower with a slight hop sheen, low foam and even lacing.

I enjoyed the taste of this beer...slightly licorice-y, hop flavor with the right amount of malt. It's definitely got that traditional citrus/piney flavor of bigger IPAs. It's pretty hop-forward, but ultimately well-balanced. I don't notice the high ABV too exceptionally, usually a good thing. This is a solid collaboration beer, although when all is said and done, not overly remarkable. Good work in general and at $6.99, certainly worth the experimentation.

Blog Update: I Swear I Still Drink Beer

So, I realize it's been nearly three whole months since I've authored a post. But it certainly hasn't been that long since I last enjoyed a beer, visited a dank microbrewery, or otherwise thought about content for this blog. I/we have been ridiculously busy over the summer, to include extensive travel, a bunch of concerts, and work trips.

That said, I want to update you on some of my non-Colorado brewery visits AND let you in on some changes to this blog. I know I can't go explore a new microbrewery on a weekly basis, at least not now that I've covered a good chunk of breweries on the front range (although I still need to get up to Fort Fun and north Denver upwards!). So I'm going to start doing bomber and other dank beer reviews on here to keep myself...and you...more engaged. I've got a number of SUPER heady beers on stash in the house, and starting very soon I'll get in to individual beer reviews that I enjoy from the comforts of my own  home.

This summer, Holly and I ventured up to her parent's lake house in MI...another FINE state for craftbrewing. Last summer, we did the same...and Holly and I managed to find a really neat little microbrewery in Sawyer, MI called Greenbush. Greenbush Brewing does some amazing work beer-wise...including their IPA Dunegras and their black IPA Anger. They do some really good specialty beers on-site too...so if you're ever in the area, including nearby South Bend...go and visit Greenbush!

While traveling back east, we also managed to visit one of my favorite non-Dogfish Head Brewery-breweries (more on them in a bit), Southern Tier Brewing Company. Southern Tier does AMAZING work...and their tap room, in little Lakewood, NY (near the beautiful Chautauqua Lake) is ideal: cozy but spacious, surrounded by natural wood elements and a great outdoor patio space. There's even a cool outdoor stage for live music. Anyway, back to the beer...2xIPA and Phin and Matt's (pale ale) are excellent year-round staples that we sampled on site. We also dug in to what can only be described as dessert-perfection in a glass: Crème Brûlée Stout. If you ever get a chance to try this beer, DO IT...9.5% ABV and delicious. We also dragged back across the country a few bombers from Southern Tier: Unearthly (Imperial IPA), Gemini (Imperial Blended Unfiltered Ale), and an oak-aged Unearthly. AND...to continue ranting about Southern Tier...I joined Let's Pour, a (sort of expensive) distributor of 'sale' microbreweries based out of Washington that will ship to your door. I executed my first order last week and am awaiting some deliciousness: Southern Tier Pumking (x3), Port Brewing Mongo Double IPA, Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA, and a Silver City Brewing 'Saint Florian' IPA. I'll be sure to post reviews of each of these in the coming weeks!

Finally, both work and personal travel brought me to northern Virginia, where I managed to get myself to Dogfish Head's Alehouse in Falls Church. If you know me, you know how much I love DFH. 90 Minute, 120 Minute, Punkin Ale, Palo Santo Marron...all SUPER DANK in my world. I managed to gather 6 of my local buddies at the Alehouse and I believe we all got tuned up on some DFH greatness. I managed to enjoy 120 Minute, Palo Santo, Raison D'etre, and Black & Blue on draft. I know that any time in the future I head back to the DC-area, I'll be making a stop here.

So that's it for now...I'll be posting some reviews...and any lucky trips to microbreweries...here in the coming weeks. Stick with it...there'll be a lot of really great sampling as fall gears up. Cheers!