Sorry for the beer hiatus. I am back with some delicious brews this week. Here we go.
Anderson Valley Hop Ottin' IPA
Anderson Valley Hop Ottin’ IPA: We start off with this offering from California’s Anderson Valley Brewery. I picked this beer up because I was immensely amused by the bear with deer antlers on it’s label. I pointed this out to Rick, who gave me a rather superior look, and said “What do you get when you combine a bear and a deer? A beer.” Ohhhhh, so clever of you Anderson Valley. Touche. It smells very piney with some citrus notes. The taste is upfront and bold. Very hoppy beer but it’s well rounded with grapefruit/orange and grassy flavors that hit you after the bitterness of the hops. Great IPA and I’m glad I’m a sucker for marketing or I might not have picked this up.
Green Flash Le Freak
Green Flash Brewing Le Freak: Another beer from California, this one is from San Diego. Le Freak is a mashup of an American IPA and a Belgian Tripel. Smelled like sour dough bread. Great combination of malts and yeast. The flavor up front is definitely of the tripel – yeasty, sour, fruity but then turns immediately to bitterness from the IPA. An interesting beer. I liked it but I’m not sure I’m totally in love with it.
Leviathan Imperial IPA
Harpoon Leviathan Series Imperial IPA: Apparently I was really into IPA’s this week. According to the Harpoon website their “Leviathan Series” is an “exploration in brewing big beers for adventurous palates.” Their Imperial IPA is definitely a big beer. At 10% it’s also a very strong one. This is a very hoppy and bitter beer; it has a ton of flavor. It feels rich and a bit sweet. You get some caramel and honey notes along with the typical piney, resin flavor from the hops. It’s a big beer and I like it.
beer.food.love.NYC 