beernesday

for my drinking pleasure this evening i'm going with an imperial pale ale rather than an ipa.  no good reason why, just happened to love Southern Tier's unearthly ipa and thought i'd give their Hoppe a try. Southern Tier reports:  "2XIPA in the Bottle - April 15, 2010 is the first day for bottling our newest beer, 2XIPA. Phin DeMink has declared it the best beer we've ever brewed! 2XIPA also has the distinction of being the first beer to be distributed in our newly designed packaging. Cheers!" if only my local purveyor of beer had had some in stock, that's what i would have chosen to imbibe this evening.  but no use crying over unavailable beer - let me turn my attention to the clear, honey coloured beauty in front of me! speaking of beauty, let me extol the virtues of the cascading beer bubbles at the pour!  what a head!  i wanna pour some more just to see the wonder of it again.  and i did!  and it was a thing of beauty and a joy to behold....

"signature ipa.  loaded with hops."  its Tree Brewing Company's Hop Head IPA! hoppy aroma, clear caramel colour, good head on the pour that disappears within moments and a lovely crisp hoppy taste.  definitely on the bitter side.  delicious.  5.6% the bottle says:  "tree brewing company takes craft brewing seriously.  we brew in small batches using only water, malt, hops and yeast to produce the highest quality, award winning beer.  try our selection of all natural unpasteurized beers, sure to satisfy some of the most discriminating craft beer drinkers & judges.  drop by the brewery located in beautiful kelowna, british columbia, and we'll show you firsthand how we make great beer.  until then... cheers!" would i have more than one?  sure, and i often do. is it in my top 10 ipas?  nope, doesn't crack the top ten.  it is quite enjoyable though. i like the new branding of tree - the stylized mighty pine is oh so...

i love the wax over the cap on Half Pints Brewing Company's humulus ludicrous.  it makes me feel like i just got transported back to medieval times and someone's going to challenge me to a duel at any moment... and i keep hoping a buxom bar wench will sidle up to me...   currently i'm pairing it with nachos.  and the historical anachronism to medieval times "please sir, can i have some more" comes to mind.  just go with it, i am. its got quite the head on it, and a fabulous hoppy aroma.  oh yeah, and it tastes fabulously hoppy too.  Lots of lace left on the glass as i drain it, but the initial haze is not wearing off.  lovely dark golden colour.   the bottle says:  our most ridiculously hoppy beer. i would like more on their label.  more about the brewery, more about the beer, just more personality.  but all i get is "craft brewed in winnipeg mb canada" and that its 8% apv and 100 IBUs.  delightful.  i'm a fan....

an ipa is shown off to its best advantage in either of these types of glassware: stemmed tulip - the inward taper holds aroma, the outward flare supports the head and fits the lips, the stem keeps the beer from warming up too quickly dimpled pint - comfortable, the lens design makes for great light play on the contents, and they're sturdy enough for repeated cheersing pint glass - easy to drink out of, the bump makes it easier to hold snifter glass - deep incurved rim and small stature make it perfect for serving strong ales (like imperial or double ipas) and capturing aromas wine glass - yes you read that correctly, a large wine glass's size allows for headspace, while the open bowl creates an amazing nose (and you might just have a great conversation starter with a wine drinker) to find glassware, visit amazon for more on glassware, visit beeradvocate