Hey everyone,
Geez, already time for another BWBB?! Where does the time go? I have a couple of thoughts on Andy's comment from the last blog, but I'll save those for a different time...hopefully later this week. (I'm also still bitter because Andy's fantasy team seemed to score multiple cheap tds yesterday against my team...but I'm over that.)
Side note: Huge Michigan victory this weekend. What a crazy/awesome/rollercoaster of a game. Phew!
Moving to the beer. Saturday night, I went to Sugar Maple. This is the same bar that had the Local Acre launch party. It's a cool place because it has 60 American craft beer taps, and they are constantly rotating in new stuff. One of their newest taps is from Furthermore, which is a brewery in Spring Green, Wisconsin. I am not overly crazy about the few Furthermore beers I have had, but they aren't bad either. Regardless, I decided to try their latest brew, Hopperbolic.
The details of the beer are a little unclear. A quick google search doesn't reveal much information at all, other than the fact it's an IPA and it's new. I also learned at Sugar Maple that it's made with hops from Gorst Valley. Gorst Valley is trying its best to popularize the use of Wisconsin grown hops in Wisconsin beer. Gorst provides varying amounts of hops to breweries such as Lakefront, Furthermore, Capital and Potosi. The trend of utilizing local ingredients in beer seems to have really helped Gorst Valley, and I anticipate we will hear more from them in the future.
Needless to say, I was pretty excited to try Hopperbolic. It pours a pale copper color. The aroma is mildly hoppy but not strong by any means. The first thing I noticed when taking a sip was how "light" the beer is. Depending on your perspective, that might be a good thing; but for me, it fell short. Hopperbolic also isn't all that hoppy. The prevailing flavor is an odd spice that I can't put my finger on. The spice flavor is not bad, but it's just a bit unexpected from an IPA. In contrast to most IPAs, this brew doesn't taste all that strong. It tastes more like a regular pale ale, than an IPA. On a positive note, the beer is certainly easy-drinking. It might be a good starter IPA for someone who is trying to experiment a bit. For me however, it was just fine....not bad, but not great.
Because of my ambivalence, I am going to give Hopperbolic 5 pints out of 10. I could drink it if necessary but would not choose to do so. I appreciate Furthermore's effort though.
I will hopefully have a non-beer blog up at some point in the near future. This weekend, C and I are going to see one of my favorite musicians, Josh Ritter, in Madison...maybe I can get some good pictures up.
Until next time...
I would have to agree with Jon...the initial taste of this IPA is weird pungent flavor. After you get past that, it was relatively smooth--but uneventful. I wonder what makes that happen versus having a pungent after-taste, which some IPAs have.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of IPAs, there is a fantastic small brewery in Vermont that is up and coming called Hill Farmstead Brewery. They are so small that they don't even sell their beer in stores--you have to go to the brewery to buy it or visit one of the handful of restaurants/bars that serve it. I tried one of their IPAs, Hill Farmstead Edward, at the Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier, VT. Let me tell you, it was amazing. Really hoppy, yet smooth and crisp with absolutely no pungent aftertaste. I also tried the even stronger triple ipa Hill Farmstead Ephraim--equally as good, a bit more hoppy, and obviously more alcohol. I love both so much that I am going to travel to the brewery and buy a growler or two. I also just read a great article about the brewery and its brewmaster Shaun Hill. He seems like a cool guy, pursuing his passion. One of the things I thought was pretty cool is that he names all his beers after his ancestors.
Check out the article here: http://www.7dvt.com/2010hill-farmstead-brewery.