IPA

Posted in NoDa Brewing, Seasonal Return

Drink your Christmas tree in NoDa Hoppy Holidays

NoDa Hoppy Holidays returns for a fourth time on Black Friday 2017.

A hoppy can of Christmas is how NoDa Hoppy Holidays is described by both the brewery and they’re loyal fans. This beer is not only brewed with six different hop varieties but is also loaded with spruce tips.

…Loaded with six scrumptious hop varieties complimented by citrus notes and brisk piney aroma, it’s the perfect beer for the most wonderful time of the year.

16-ounce cans of Hoppy Holidays will be available again in the top room on November 24th.

Style: IPA (w/ Spruce Tips)
Availability: 16oz cans. Limited release.
Return: Early December 2015

6.5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bellwoods Brewery, Don't Miss This

Canada is coming in hot. Meet Bellwoods Roman Candle

All the hazy, hoppy goodness isn’t just found stateside. Canada’s craft breweries are getting into the style as well. We just stumbled across Bellwoods Roman Candle, brewed in Toronto, Ontario.

This is the first Bellwoods Brewery beer we’ve tried at Beer Street Journal. They’ve hit our radar hard over the past few months here stateside. Mike Clark and Luke Pestl opened the doors to Bellwood in 2012, and in their own words “working towards the rather ambitious goal not to run out of beer”.

In 2013, Bellwoods opened their full-time bottle shop, finally opening a second facility in August of 2016.

Apparently, the poor work/life balance continues as 2018 looms. Judging by Roman Candle, the hard work is truly paying off.

The New England IPA/hazy/unfiltered style is on fire across the United States, and there are truly some fantastic ones out there (Looking at you Trillium, The Veil, Monday Night, Off Shoot). We really weren’t expecting to one from Ontario anytime soon, much less one that blew us away.

Roman Candle is absolutely flush with flavors of tangerine, orange and pineapple hop flavors. Forget juicy fruit. All the juice is in this can. This IPA finishes slightly bitter and clean. Roman Candle is truly haze-tastic and sadly, many many miles away.

Besides Candle, The Bellwoods lineup looks pretty robust. The brewery has collaborations with Evil Twin, Virginia’s Penn Druid Brewing, plus a few sour and wild ales and barrel-aged offerings. Keep this brewery on your radar.

We hope to drink more Bellwoods soon.

Style: IPA
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft.
Distribution: N/A

6.8% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Jekyll Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

Meet the adult juice box. Jekyll Southern Juicy Juice debuts

Jekyll Southern Juicy Juice is the latest dank offering from the Alpharetta, Georgia brewery.

An IPA by the name of Hop Dang Diggity was the start of Jekyll Brewing’s hoppy journey four years ago. Earlier this year, Southern Juice hit the scene elevating the suburban Atlanta brewery’s hop game to a new level. Southern Juice is a tropical blast of hops but still pours crystal clear. (You know, the traditional way.)

Folks these days want an India pale ale that is hazy and juicy. Head Brewer and co-owner Josh Rachel thought “fuck it, make one”.

With a 1-barrel pilot system in hand, a new brewhouse and relaxed Georgia beer laws, Rachel has had more room to experiment. After spending a few late nights on the Lupulin Exchange buying the hops needed, the hazy creation that would be Southern Juicy Juice was green-lighted.

Any similarities with Southern Juice and Southern Juicy Juice ends with the name. From smell to pour, they might as well be strangers. Southern Juicy Juice looks like orange juice and smells like a hoppy tropical drink as it warms. 5 pounds of Azacca, Vic Secret, Apollo and Mosaic hops per barrel will do that. Those heavy-handed additions of hops really shine with each sip.

The malt bill includes flaked oats and wheat, making Juicy finish smooth and almost creamy. Easily one of the best IPAs by Jeykll to date.

Jekyll Southern Juicy Juice will make appearances in 16-ounce 4 packs intermittently as the hops become available. By design, Rachel is making this beer in limited quantities hoping to keep people drinking this as fresh as possible.

Style: IPA
Hops: Azacca, Mosaic, Vic Secret, Apollo
Malts: 2-Row, Flaked Oats, Flaked Wheat=

Availability: 16oz Cans
Debut: 10/24/17

6% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Victory Brewing Company, Coming Soon, Don't Miss This

Victory Blood Orange IPA is on deck, with agave syrup

Victory Blood Orange IPA is on deck for the Pennsylvania based brewery.

Blood Orange and touch of agave syrup are the stars of this forthcoming India pale ale. The brewery previously released an IPA brewed with agave in their Blackboard Series.

This rose-colored IPA explodes with citrus aromas, flavors of blood orange, and smooth maltiness.

Victory Blood Orange IPA will be available in 12-ounce bottles and draft. The brewery has not yet announced this release.

Style: IPA (w/ Blood Orange. Agave.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft.
Debut: TBA

7% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Burial Beer Co, Don't Miss This

Run the Jewels & Burial Stay G-O-L-D IPA returns again in October

Burial Stay G-O-L-D IPA inspired by the hip-hop group Run the Jewels returns again in October.

Asheville, North Carolina’s Burial Beer and Brooklyn’s Interboro Spirits & Ales teamed up earlier this year with hip-hop group Run the Jewels for a special hoppy release. Stay G-O-L-D IPA is the result.

Run the Jewels was founded in 2013 by rappers El-P and Killer Mike. Besides his hot rhymes, Killer Mike has a love of beer. A few years ago he flew to Chicago to do a special collaboration with Goose Island. (We actually visited him at his barber shop in Georgia.)

Burial Beer Stay G-O-L-D IPA is brewed with the help of Brooklyn, New York’s Interboro Spirits & Ale. Named for a track on the groups latest “Run the Jewels 3” release, Stay G-O-L-D is juicy India pale ale brewed with Citra and Mosaic hops.

Aromas of dank pineapple lemon honeydew. Tangy citrus piney flavors with clean bitter finish. – Interboro Spirits & Ales

Stay G-O-L-D IPA will be available at the brewery in Asheville, North Carolina again on October 11th at 5pm – just before Run the Jewels plays their sold out show downtown. Just like before, no distribution.

Style: IPA
Availability: 16oz Cans.
Debut: 4/7/17
Latest Release: 10/11/17

6% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This

Stone Vengeful Spirit IPA (with with pineapple and oranges) goes national

One of California’s most well-known breweries may truly be embracing hazy India pale ales. At the end of the day, IPA is really what put them on the map. Stone Vengeful Spirit IPA debuts in cans nationally later this month.

An unfiltered IPA already intermittently exists in the brewery’s lineup, part of theEnjoy By IPA series. In the near future, Stone is releasing Nor’East Nod Double IPA, a hat tip to hazy, juicy “New England-style IPA”,

Now another unfiltered, juice-forward IPA is joining the brewery’s Stone’s lineup – Vengeful Spirit IPA.  This hazy IPA will be bringing the juice, in the form of pineapple and Mandarin oranges.

We’ve often been inspired to brew beers on a theme. In 2007 it was black IPAs. 2008 saw Belgian influenced IPAs, and more than once it’s been Triple IPAs. It’s been fun to dive deep, and you’ve ridden those waves right along with us. But like you, we’ve also crave new breaks to surf. Right now, it’s tropically-inspired IPA’s as represented both by this flavored ale, Stone Tangerine Express IPA and others we’ve got waiting in the wings…. With Stone Vengeful Spirit IPA we employ a bit of tropical mythology to pay homage to our ever present gargoyle. Since 1996 he’s had our back, and yours, by representing an aggressive intolerance for commoditized beer. He constantly inspires us to forge ahead with resolve-even with the omnipresent forces of forceful evil. Vengeful spirits can be awesome when they are on your side.

Stone Vengeful Spirit IPA will be available in 12-ounce cans and draft in late September 2017.

Style: IPA (w/ Pineapples, Oranges)
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: Late September 2017

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Creature Comforts

Creature Comforts Crescendo returns in new 16oz cans

Creature Comforts Crescendo rejoins the brewery’s lineup again today, in new 16-ounce cans.

Extra vessels allowed the Athens, Georgia brewery begin brewing a series of taproom only releases. Among the first was Crescendo, debuting for the first time last October. Since then, a bulk of the brewery’s new releases have been taproom only.

Creature Comforts Crescendo is quite hoppy, featuring 5.5 pounds of hops per barrel. El Dorado, Galaxy, plus an experimental hop known as Grungeist round out the hop lineup.

Crescendo is a slightly hazy IPA with notes of honeydew, white peach skin, pineapple, and orange from the hops used in the beer.

Creature Comforts Crescendo is available in 16-ounce cans and draft, with limited distribution coming this week. Crescendo is extremely limited.

Style: IPA
Hops: El Dorado, Galaxy, Grungeist

Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft. Taproom Only.
Debut: Late October, 2016
Latest Return: 9/16/17

7.2% ABV

Image: Creature Comforts  

by Reid Ramsay