At a time when all the new IPA’s seem to be hazy, low on malt flavour and absent of any bitterness, this beer stands up amongst them and says FUCK YOU! Just when I thought I could no longer be shocked or impressed by relatively clear, strong chewy imperial IPA, Melvin brewing just goes ahead…
Gavin Hamilton, a Scotsman who began his career as an apprentice clerk for the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Langley, apparently shot and killed not one, but three bears with a double barrel shotgun on a canoe trip while hunting for wild ducks.
It’s funny, this beer has been out locally for over a year now and I’ve always had a tough time finding it fresh enough to buy (I won’t buy a canned IPA older than 4 months, I won’t buy undated ones). Every time I found it, it was always a year old, eight months old,…
I’ve generally enjoyed most Fuggles & Warlock beers, but I have to admit I’m really partial to their IPA releases which are always great.
This beer is a unique collaboration effort between Powell Brewery and Four Winds Brewing which was released in 4 packs of 16 oz cans a couple of weeks ago into the market. It has a fairly low IBU of 31 with an ABV of 6.8% and is more of a hybrid style than either a…
Superflux Colour & Shape IPA: Formerly known as Machine Brewing who operated out of Callister’s co-op model brewery, Superflux is the new operating name for these folks who made themselves known as masters of IPA’s and hop forward beers
Melvin Asterisk DIPA: Described as the cousin of 2X4 on Melvin’s website this 9% abv Double IPA is my choice for IPA of the week for a few reasons.
Twin Sails has been pumping out all kinds of unique and interesting IPA’s lately and I felt this one deserved to be called out as my first IPA of the week
Steamworks Flagship IPA: A recipe “4 years in the making” according to the brewery, this recent BC Beer Awards Gold Medal Winning IPA celebrates the invasion of the NE IPA (aka North East, aka New England) variety of IPA’s into British Columbia. Perhaps ignited by the likes of Heady Topper or other eastern USA breweries…
Over the last two years, Central City Brewing has created a collaboration craft beer advent calendar with Parallel 49 Brewing to help spread the beer festivities for Canadian craft beer lovers. The mandate this past year was to include 12 brand new beer recipes in their calendars, six new one’s per brewery which not only…
Russian River Pliny the Elder: This was another bucket list beer of mine that I was super excited to try, I have heard about it a lot and couldn’t wait to pop it open. Brewed in Santa Rosa, CA to a strength of 8% with 100 IBUs this beer is meant to be drank as fresh…
Maine Beer Company Dinner Double IPA: Brewed in Freeport, Maine this top 10 ranked Double IPA (see ratebeer) is brewed to a strength of 8.2% abv with an undisclosed level of IBUs. This particular beer is pretty difficult to obtain outside of North Eastern USA and due to its high rating heightened demand, tracking a…
Howe Sound Ascension Triple IPA: Brewed by a Squamish, BC brewery, this massive IPA comes in at a strength of 11% abv with 75 IBUs worth of hops. This is the first time I can recall a Triple IPA being bottled and released in BC in a large enough amount to be distributed at private…
Sixpoint Brewery Resin Imperial IPA: Brewed in Brooklyn, New York this beer comes in at a strength of 9.1% abv and a whopping 103 IBUs worth of resinous hops. Sixpoint’s beers come in these tall, skinny 12 oz cans (as pictured above) which makes them very convenient and easy to store in a fridge or cooler.…
Long Trail Brewing Space Juice Double IPA: Brewed in Vermont, this intergalactic inspired beer is made to an Imperial strength of 8.7% abv with 82 IBUs with of Galaxy, Mosiac, Citra, Ella and Columbus Hops. If you are looking for a beer to pair with the new Star Wars movie, this is a great choice! Aroma and Appearance:…
Brewmaster Jack Hoppines Is A Warm Pun Double IPA: Brewed in Northhampton Massachusetts, this beer comes in at a strength of 8.2% abv and contains 100 IBUs worth of Moteuka and Galaxy hops. I admit, I’ve never ever heard of Moteuka hops before, but some quick googling revealed that it’s a cross breed of Saaz and…
Lord Hobo Brewing Boom Sauce Double IPA: Brewed in Woburn, Massachusetts this double IPA is a blend of three of their hop forward ales: Blend of Ball and Biscuit, Steal This Can and Consolation Prize. It comes in a 500mL can, simply labelled Boom Sauce, and it makes for a great shelf impression and presence amongst a…
Fiddlehead Brewing Mastermind Double IPA: Brewed in Shelburne, VT this Double IPA comes in at a strength of 8.1% abv with an undisclosed IBU. A unique thing about this particular beer is that the brewery has committed to donating 25% of all sales of Mastermind towards the Vermont Children’s Hospital’s Extra Life Event which supports clinical…
Dead Frog Brewery Wet Hop S.M.A.S.H.: A surprise release from Dead Frog in Aldergrove, BC, this fresh hop beer features fresh locally grown Centennial hops and Pale malt from Armstrong, BC making it a full on British Columbian ale that was released mid November. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a pale golden colour with one finger of…
Gilgamesh Brewing Fresh Prince Fresh Hop IPA: Brewed in Salem, Oregon at a strength of 6.3% abv and 88 IBUs of hop love, Fresh Prince showcases a whole lot of fresh Centennial hops. This beer is rumored to make you involuntary start doing the Carlton dance at random times in random places, or at least in…
Two Beers Brewing Fresh Hop IPA: Brewed in Seattle, WA at a strength of 6.2% abv, this fresh hop variant features 70+ IBUs of 5 different hop varieties, specifically using fresh Centennial hops from Yakima Valley that were harvested in early August and rushed straight to the brewery to be used immediately. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a…
Yellow Dog Brewing Play Dead Fresh Hop IPA: Brewed with fresh Mosaic hops from Yakima, WA this IPA comes in at a strength of 6.8% abv with 75 IBUs. I can honestly say, after having at least a few of these, that this is one of the best fresh hop beers I have ever had. They knocked…
Russell Brewing Farm Fresh IPA: A latecomer to the fresh hop market, this IPA is brewed to a strength of 6.5% abv and features 48 IBUs worth of Centennial, Cascade and Chinook hops from Chilliwack’s Sartori hop farm. I was surprised to see a fresh hop release from Russell to be honest, I wasn’t expecting them…
Deschutes Chasin’ Freshies: Brewed in Bend, OR at a strength of 7.4% with 65 IBUs, the 2015 release features fresh Lemondrop hops and a Pilsner malt base. The recipe changes year over year and this year’s is very, very different than the 2014 version which had fresh Mosaic hops and more traditional ale malts. Aroma and Appearance: It pours…
Hale’s Ales Fresh Hop ISA: This fresh hop beer is brewed in Seattle, WA to a strength of 4.7% abv with fresh Cascade hops from Washington’s Yakima Valley – as well as some Bravo and Sorachi ace hops. I found this randomly in Vancouver BC, which is odd because I never see Hale’s Ales here, but…
Fort George Fresh Wet IPA: This beer was brewed in Astoria, Oregon to a strength of 6.4% abv using Yakima Valley, WA fresh Mosaic hops from Loftus Ranches. Honestly, this wasn’t easy to track down as the limited supply that was sent to Washington State was quickly bought up by any fresh hop fan, so I was…
Bridgeport Brewing Hop Harvest Fresh Hop IPA: Brewed in Portland, Oregon with fresh hops harvested from farm to kettle within merely an hour, this beer is made to a strength of 7% abv with 60 IBUs worth of fresh crystal hops from nearby Sodbuster Farms in the Willamette Valley region. Admittedly, this was a random and…
Fremont Brewing Cowiche Canyon Fresh Hop Ale With Mosaic & Equinox: Brewed in Seattle, WA at a strength of 6% abv, this fresh hop variant features 70 IBUs worth of fresh Mosaic and Equinox hops. This is a new variety of their regular fresh hop release, something I wasn’t expecting but was happy to see. Their organic…
Powell Street Fresh Hop IPA: Last year Powell killed it with their fresh hop release called 95 Pounds of Wet Hop Goodness, so I was thrilled to see this year they upped their game by making a 7% abv unknown IBU fresh hop monster of an IPA. These are still on the shelves locally, I suggest…
Townsite Brewing Timewarp Wet Hop Pale Ale: Fresh hop season continues and this review features one from Powell River, BC that was brewed to a strength of 5.5% abv with 60 IBUs worth of fresh hops from nearby Windfall Farms and apparently some hops from Texada Island – and I thought they only grew other “crops” on…
Bridge Brewing Fresh Hopped Red IPA: Fresh hop season finally kicked off in BC in late September and there are lots of new fresh hop options in town from all the new breweries who managed to get their hands on some fresh hop cones. One of my first bottles of the season was this new one from…
Against The Grain Brewery Citra Ass Down DIPA: Known for their puns, artwork and one really nasty looking label, Against The Grain brewed this beer to a strength of 8.2% abv with 68 IBUs of hops featuring mostly Citra hops with some others on the side. The brewers suggest drinking this one straight from the can…
Stone Brewing RuinTen Triple IPA: Stone is known for pushing the envelope to the limit when it comes to brewing, so it’s no surprise to see that this beast dubbed an “audacious gem of hoppy splendor” is brewed to a strength of 10.8% abv with 110 IBU’s worth of hops. Bottled on June 13th, 2015,…
pFriem Family Brewers Down Under IPA: Brewed in Hood River, OR this IPA comes in at a strength of 7.2% abv and 65 IBUs. pFriem is just starting to send more bottled product up to BC, but it can also be found in Washington State and they make some pretty stellar soured beers and saisons that I…
Fiddlehead Brewing Second Fiddle IPA: Brewed in Shelburne, VT this Double IPA comes in at a strength of 8.2% abv with 80 IBUs in an easily crushable tallboy can sold in 4 packs. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a nice clear copper colour with 3 fingers of foam and an average level of carbonation. The aroma is…
Lawson’s Finest Liquids Sip of Sunshine Double IPA: Brewed in Warren, VT this Double IPA comes in at a strength of 8% abv with an undisclosed IBU level. Like other famous Vermont IPA’s, it’s in a tall boy can with a date stamp on the bottom (mine was 5 weeks fresh) and features some pretty cool…
Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA: Brewed in Chico, CA, this beer was the subject of a short but relatively public dispute over the black IPA lettering used on the bottle which was just, barely, sorta similar to the Lagunitas IPA font they use on their white labeled IPA bottle. It is brewed to a strength of 6.2% abv…
Huss Brewing That’ll Do IPA: Hailing from Tempe, AZ this is an IPA in an unassuming can that is brewed to a strength of 7.1% abv with 91 IBUs of Simcoe, Columbus and Zythos Hops according to the brewer’s website. I didn’t go there recently, however Mike’s Craft Beer was happy to share one with me (thanks Mike)…
Dieu Du Ciel & The Alchemist Moralité IPA: Is an American IPA style beer collaboration with two great brewers, one known for Heady Topper which is one the most highly regarded IPA’s in North America and the other known for a great line up beers. I drank this within about 1 month of the bottling date,…
Parallel 49 Rye The Long Face Imperial Rye IPA: This beer is brewed in Vancouver, BC at a strength of 8.5% abv with 86 IBUs worth of Chinook, Simcoe, Amarillo and Centennial hops. It uses both rye and barley malts to give it some different characters to a typical IPA and was just released a couple weeks ago.…
Powell Street Right Kind of Crazy Double IPA: This is a 150 IBU hop monster of a beer brewed in Vancouver, BC to a strength of 9% abv. According to their website description it is made with Columbus, Amarillo and the new Azacca hop variety so I guess move over Mosaic, the beer world has a new…
Four Winds Vexillum Imperial IPA: Brewed in Delta, BC to a strength of 9% abv and 100 IBU’s, I managed to buy this directly at the brewery and consume it on its first day of release so this was about as fresh as it gets beyond drinking it straight from the tank. Aroma and Appearance: It pours…
Russian River Blind Pig IPA: This was a bucket list beer of mine that I was super excited to try and it did really live up to its name. Brewed in Santa Rosa, CA to a strength of 6.1% with 70 IBUs this beer is meant to be drank as fresh as possible, my bottle was…
Stone Enjoy By 02-14-15 IPA: Yes, finally the Stone Brewing Enjoy By series has made it into British Columbia with a $10 price tag which is about right for the market, albeit almost a joke because it hit shelves like 3 days before it technically expires (we all blame our Liquor Distribution Board for this). This…
Bomber Brewing Blood From A Stone Collaboration: In collaboration with Stone Brewing Compamy to celebrate their BC launch, Bomber Brewing released this 6.8% abv and 60 IBU Red Rye IPA in a screen printed bottle, keeping with the Stone Brewing tradition. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a clear amber colour with medium carbonation and two fingers of ivory…
Coronado Brewing Black Sails IPA: Brewed in Coronado, CA at a strength of 6.8% abv this was the first beer from this company that I purchased in Canada since they recently started distributing here in British Columbia. It’s great to see all of these interesting beers in BC, although I bet the local brewers are feeling…
Sierra Nevada Estate Homegrown Wet Hop Ale: Brewed in Chico, CA at a strength of 6.7% abv with 67 IBUs this wet hopped ale is made completely from organically grown hops featuring Chinook, Cascade and Citra hops and malts at the brewery farm which is pretty impressive. I managed to snap this up during a recent visit to…
Persephone Brewing – Double IPA: Brewed in Gibsons, this Double IPA is brewed at a strength of 9% abv featuring Amarillo, Cascade and Columbus hops. Interestingly enough, this is one of the more expensive DIPA’s on the market, often going for $12-$13 a bottle at private stores (this is where a 10% CAMRA discount is handy). I…
Deschutes Chasin’ Freshies: Brewed in Bend, OR at a strength of 7.4% with 65 IBUs featuring fresh Mosaic Hops (yeah that’s right, fresh Mosaic people!), I was super excited to see this beer make it’s way into my fridge and oh my it delivered! Aroma and Appearance: It pours with a clear golden yellow, some minor carbonation and…
Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA: Brewed in Chico, CA at a strength of 6.8% abv with 65 IBUs, I enjoyed this fresh hop IPA approximately three weeks after it’s September 30th bottling date featuring fresh Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops. They have apparently been brewing this beer since the year I was born so they’ve…
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