The Hops Diary

beeriousgirls: Happy American Craft Beer Week!!!

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:32:45 -0400

Happy American Craft Beer Week!!!

thefuj: Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA - Stone Brewing Co. -...

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:42:02 -0400

Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA - Stone Brewing Co.

- Had this a few weeks ago. I was on a waiting list to grab this at Winooski Beverage hoping to grab this during our trip to Vermont, but that didn’t pan out. Thanks to Jon for sharing this. It pretty much seals the deal: the honeymoon is over between me and West Coast IPAs. What a fucking pine bomb and obviously, holy fucking bitter. It does absolutely nothing for me. I’m not sure what the point of drinking a beer that makes you wince with every sip. I definitely prefer the well-balanced, citrusy Vermont DIPAs all day long over this style beer.

I’d love to give this a try! Stone is up there on my list of favorites.

theatlantic: The Geography of Craft Beer America has more...

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 21:43:41 -0400

theatlantic:

The Geography of Craft Beer

America has more craft beer breweries today than at any other point since 1887. Merriam-Webster added the term to their dictionary this year. Even President Obama has his own brew.

The number of breweries is increasing dramatically, according to the Brewer’s Association, a trade organization — just take a glance at this nifty chart on their website — and 350 more were added between June and the same time last year. Among these breweries, 97 percent are “craft brewers“ — meaning they are relatively low-production, independently owned, and “interpret historic styles with unique twists and develop new styles that have no precedent.”

Read more. [Images: Martin Prosperity Institute]

So I’ll admit, I haven’t posted in forever....

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 12:40:34 -0400

So I’ll admit, I haven’t posted in forever. I’ve been in the process of moving so things have been a little hectic. But alas, I have returned from the den with a great beer to share!

Since I’ve moved to NH recently I’ve been making a point to try regional New England brews, Peaks being the first. What first caught my eye was the big word “organic” on the front panel of the six pack. I thought to myself “an organic IPA? My brew sense is tingling” so I decided to pick it up, and boy am I glad I did.

Hailing from Portland, Maine, Peak’s organic IPA (an American IPA) had a great, deep amber color that tickled my fancy. I was excited to try this beer from the second I started pouring it. It gave off a citrus like aroma that was stimulating and got me all the more “reved up” to try this beer.

And now, the taste.

Peak’s organic IPA is surprisingly refreshing and bold with a great citrus aftertaste that finishes crisp and clean. If you refer to my previous post on Harpoon IPA I classify IPAs into two flavor categories (1) is those that have a bold full body and light after taste and (2) is the ones with less body and a nice bitter after taste. I would put Peak’s in the first flavor category. If you like IPAs such as Star Hill’s Northern Lights and Dogfish Head’s 60 min. then you’ll like Peak’s as well.

Like other American IPAs, Peak’s should be enjoyed in a pint glass or mug at around 55 degrees.

Overall I’d give this beer an 8.5 out of 10, it’s definitely an IPA to remember.

Double IPA, mmmmmm.

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 13:37:00 -0400

Double IPA, mmmmmm.

ATTENTION!

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:42:41 -0400

Harris Teeter is having a 20% of sale on all craft beer! If you live in the vicinity of a Harris...

A few days ago I bought myself a six pack of O’Connor...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 00:16:00 -0400

A few days ago I bought myself a six pack of O’Connor Brewing Co. “Norfolk Canyon” Pale Ale. First of all I’d like to premise this post by thanking the good people at O’Connor for doing something great for the culture and people of Norfolk, God knows we needed it. But now to the beer.

I’ve had many different beers by the O’Conner Brewing Company and have only been disappointed once, and it was by no fault on the brewers. I tried their golden ale once thinking that maybe it could redeem my thought on them, but alas, golden ales still haven’t made my “good beers” list. The other beers I’ve had by O’Conner are the Red Nun red ale and the Great Dismal black IPA.

The Norfolk Canyon pale ale is a good reminder that you cannot judge a book by it’s cover. Most people assume that a pale ale would be somewhat docile in taste, given it’s name. But O’Connor is a medium bodied beer with a surprisingly bold, hoppy taste that leaves a delightfully lingering after taste. It’s not on par with a say, a good IPA, as far as it’s boldness goes, but those people who enjoy a good, hoppy beer won’t be disappointed. You can definitely taste the malt upon first sip and a few seconds later you are hit with the hops, a good one-two punch as far as beer goes.

Pale ale gets it’s name not from it’s flavor, but from it’s color. By classification, pale ale is a beer that uses pale malts, and the more of these malts you use the lighter the color becomes. Pale ale is one of the predominant styles of beer and the name goes back all the way to 1703. Another common name for pale ale is “Bitter” which originates from the 1700s as well and was used by patrons of the drink to help them differentiate between the different styles of beer. As far as pale ale’s go there are many different “sub categories” of pale ale, which include Amber Ale, American Pale Ale, Blonde, and India Pale Ale (IPA). O’Connor would be considered an American Pale Ale, but could also be considered an American Strong Ale since it has a 5.5% ABV, which is usually the floor for such beers, but is still able to be considered in this group of ale.

Another thing that I like about the O’Conner brewing company is that they post the IBU value of their beers on the packaging. IBU stands for International Bitterness Units and is a system for measuring how bitter a beer tastes (how hoppy it is). Putting this value on the packing makes it easy for consumers to get an idea in their head as to the taste of the beer before they buy it, which is helpful for those who are looking to try something new but don’t want to end up with something they won’t like. For instance, I’ve come to learn that I typically like a beer that has an IBU of about 30 or above, so if I see that O’Conner ( or any other brewer that posts the IBU value of the beer on the packaging) came out with a beer with an IBU of say, 16 (such is their golden ale) then I would be safe to say that such a beer might not be the best choice for me given my preferences for taste.

As an American Pale Ale, Norfolk Canyon should be enjoyed between 45-54 degrees in a regular, non chilled, pint glass (as pictured above). At the end of they day I would give the O’Conner Norfolk Canyon Pale ale an 8 out of 10. Definitely a great beer that I would recommend to others.

For a second I thought that Starbucks made a double walled pint...

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:50:57 -0400

For a second I thought that Starbucks made a double walled pint glass, but I guess we’re not that lucky, lol. Though it might not be a bad idea to help maintain temperature longer.

This week I picked up a six pack of Harpoon’s IPA (India...

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 18:02:00 -0400

This week I picked up a six pack of Harpoon’s IPA (India Pale Ale) from my local Harris Teeter, which has a surprisingly good selection of beer. What drew my to the decision to purchase this beer over the others I was considering was: one, I had never had anything by these brewers, which is always a heavily weighted factor in my decision making. I’ll always try a beer from a new brewer over one that I’ve had before. Two, the brewery has two locations, one being in Boston. Since I’ll be moving to the Boston area in a few months I thought I’d give it a try to see what the New England area has to offer as far as beer goes, I’m not a fan of the Sam Adams dynasty so I was looking to this beer to give me hope.

I can honestly say, as a huge IPA fan, that Harpoon didn’t disappoint with this one. It didn’t knock my current favorite from it’s position, that title still lies with Snake Dog IPA which is made by the Flying Dog brewing company. Even with that said, however, Harpoon offers a bold, hoppy taste that isn’t over powering and finishes clean with a VERY light citrus after taste. In my experience IPAs fall into two different taste categories, The first are the IPAs that have a very bold initial taste with very mild after taste. Then there are the IPAs that have an arguably less bold initial taste with a great bite at the end (in the after taste). Harpoon would fall into the first group of IPAs.

I would put Harpoon IPA in the same group as the Dogfish Head 60 min. IPA, Star Hill’s Northern Lights IPA, and O’Connor’s Great Dismal Black IPA. It should be enjoyed at around 50 degrees in a non frozen glass (typically, chilled glasses do more harm than good since the already cold beer gets colder and this tends to kill the flavor), and you could probably get away with serving this in a typical pint class, as superb head retention isn’t vital for this IPA (More on beer glasses will be discussed in another post).

All in all I would give the Harpoon IPA an an 8 out of 10, and would definitely recommend it to others who enjoy IPAs.

So this is my first post. I’ve been interested in craft...

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 19:37:00 -0400

So this is my first post. I’ve been interested in craft beers for quite a while now and a few friends of mine, including my manager at work, suggested that I make a blog of reviews of the beers I’ve tried, so I thought I’d give it a try. Though, I’m looking to do more than just beer reviews. On this blog you’ll be able to find:

1 - Beer reviews, duh!
2 - Ins and outs of enjoying beer (beer glasses and their differences, proper serving temperature etc)
3 - history of beers
4 - Reviews of local bars

Hopefully anyone who reads this will enjoy what they find, I just hope to bring the world of craft beers to everyone. It’s great that America has established itself so much within this field, it’s also great that us beer fans can finally hold a discussion with all the wine snobs!

Jacob