4.30 - Corruption

aaaand just like that April is over.  Seriously?  1/3 of 2013 is done already.. this is insane.  Well.. back to the beer!  I had a good beer buddy go down to DC about 7 or 8 weeks ago and he offered one of his last cans of this to me in a trade.. can't say no to that!

DC Brau - The Corruption IPA

at 6.5% ABV and 85 IBUs, DC Brau themselves list this as straddling the IPA/DIPA line.  Apparently "In 1824, Speaker of the House Henry Clay forged a coalition that secured the White House for John Quincy Adams. In return, Adams named Clay as his secretary of state in what became known as 'The Corrupt Bargain'."  Thaks DC Brau website! #HISTORY!   

This pours a surprisingly dark orange/brown with a slight off-white head.  Bright citrusy fruit, orange and grapefruit pulp, resins, and some caramel malts..  I'm almost getting an orange jam/marmalade aroma off of this.  Definitely a rather unique take on an IPA.. never smelled one as juicy and fruity as this.  It's thick and resin-y, even at 6.5%, with more pine than the nose would suggest.  For a single-hop IPA, this is nicely complex.  There's more citrus..pulpy and chewy, with some refreshing spice.  It's sweetly bitter on the finish, dry but juicy.. there's a lot going on and this is just downright tasty!

- - 8 Hops!

4.22 - Enjoy By? More like Enjoy AFTER

yeah..by now everyone's heard of the Stone Enjoy By IPA.. if you haven't, get ya head outta ya ass and drink a goddamn beeaaahhhh.  The most recent batch came to MA in very late February with a date of Enjoy By 4.01.13.. and NO that's not an April Fool's joke.

Stone - Enjoy By 04.01.13

a 9.4% DIPA with probably an insanely crazy amount of IBUs.  A great golden orange pour with a perfect white head.. the nose coming off of this batch is still crazy good, but a notch beneath the first one to hit MA.  Tons of citrus, pine, grapefruit, floral, resins... they just flow out of the bottle and glass.  The first batch was a bit more..I'm not sure, pungent? powerful? aromatic?  That being said, this stands up there with the best DIPAs aroma-wise.  For such a high ABV DIPA.. this is still incredibly light and drinks all-too-easy.  The heavier resins from the nose don't really come into play until the finish.  The body is citrus and grassy, more sharp bitterness than before.  This isn't supposed to be a balanced brew by any means, but even this seems a little out-of-whack..  It's juicy, it's sharp, it's bitter.. it's still damned good!  Incredible lingering hop profile with just a hint of malt.  Even 3 weeks later this is still incredible.  (and in case you're wondering if the 'age' affected my opinion of this.. I had it immediately upon release as well and it's barely changed since then).  Still worthy of a 9!

- - 9 Hops!

4.19 & 4.20 - Yard's pt I

yeah...yeah.. I went to Philly months ago.. shut it, OK?  I'm busy and I got too much damn beer.

These have clearly aged a bit.. but none are IPAs..and it's been a little over 6 months, not too much outside the realm of safe drinking..

4.15 - 100 Barrel Black IPA

I think I happened to miss a few of the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series beers.. but hey, I'm only human and there's far too many beers out there!

So without further ado!

Harpoon 100 Barrel Series #40 - Black IPA
A 7.0% ABV 67 IBU well.. Black IPA clearly.  Stupidly waited a bit long on this one.. I'm already forecasting faded flavors.  There's some decent "Harpoon-y" hops coming off the nose..  yeah, we all know a lot of the Harpoon brews have a particular note - most of the big brewers exhibit this.  And, unsurprisingly, it's got an almost pure black pour.  There's touches of roasty malts, coffee, chocolate.. but mainly it's wheat and that floral/piney/grassy/mild citrus Harpoon IPA hop profile.  It's got a decent body, but is fairly light considering the ABV and hue/aromas.  There's a certain crisp-ness that comes from the brighter citrus and piney hops that fades to the roasty, smooth, bold malts.  I can't tell if the finishing bitterness is due to the hops or the boozy bitter black chocolate coming from the malts.  There's sadly a slight metallic note near the finish and I'm sensing faded hop flavors due to the age and the fact that the hops just simply don't shine...unless this was intended.  The finish is a combination of the malts and hops that have carried through from the nose to the body to here.. as well as a touch of sweetness.  It was good.. but for a special brew it could have been better

- - 6 Hops!

4.13 - The Kiwi Rises

A few months old.. want to drink this before it fades too much!

Jack's Abby - Kiwi Rising

a Double IPL (India Pale Lager) at 8.5% ABV and 105 IBUs  Jack's Abby out of Framingham, MA is a lager-only brewery.. very damn cool.  So you'll never see an IPA from them.. only IPLs.  This was brewed using NZ Kiwi hops.. with a ton of additions, hopback and dry-hopping.  A golden yellow pour with a fairly large head.  Wonderful citrus/tropical hop notes rise (no pun intended.. OK, maybe there was) out of the glass.. touches of fresh wheat..  straight-forward hops here for sure.  This is sorta medium-full-bodied for an India Pale whatever.. tons of hops here, not hugely bitter which is a very nice departure from the hugely hoppy India Pales..  Tropical, citrus, grapefruit.. somewhat chewy but smooth.  Tough to describe this one.. but damn is it sexy!  Still very bright flavors.. only a slight malt backbone to offset the wonderful hop notes.  For the sake of the naming.. this is just delicious.. who cares if a lager or ale, I taste no difference.  Not really a bitter aftertaste here with is terrific.. sort of tart and bright.  Simply a great beer.  Comparison to their most recent Double IPL to come soon!

- - 8 Hops!

4.9 - Not Quite Winter - Definitely Not Spring

Found a 12pk of the Saranac Winter Mixer at a packie a few weeks back.. discount price.. why not?!

Matt Brewing Co - Saranac  -  Belgian Pale Ale

a 5.4% ABV 28 IBU well.. Belgian Pale Ale, clearly.  Crystal-clear golden pour.. this scarily looks like  fizzy yellow beer!  And it is fizzy as hell, that's for sure.  There's a decent aroma coming off of this.. sweet, bready malts, touches of clove and some apple/pear combine with the faintest grassy hops.  This is really smooth and crisp.. more lager-like than an ale.  Lighter, sweet malts - honey, bready, smooth..  only a touch of bubblegum and clove from the Belgian aspect of the name come through.  Touches of a metallic note and fruit - apple, pear, orange etc..   This is very drinkable, but overall doesn't stand out in any way.  just a nice run-of-the-mill Belgian Pale

- - 6 Hops!

4.7 - National (Session) Beer Day!

So folks, today is National Beer Day!  Apparently this is the 80th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition.. but if you look online, there's a ton of different days associated with this repeal..  but who are we to argue with a beer holiday!?  Just accept it, raise that pint, and celebrate!

(Also, here on the east coast we're trying to get Session Beer Day to trend..  not only is this a growing segment of craft beer, but technically at the beginning of Prohibition's repeal, beer could only be 4.0% or lower - session beer has different standards depending on who you ask, but the majority draw the line at 4.5% ABV - so why not make it a two-fer?!)

The only thing to make celebrating National Beer Day even better would be not only to imbibe in the joyous drink, but to help produce more of the magical beverage for all you consumers!  I spent my day at the brewery with the Backlash people helping get fresh batches of our Belgian IPA and Imperial IPA ready for distro!  Now THAT is American, people

4.1 - No Foolin' Here

The only April Fool's joke here is that I legitimately don't have any more beers from Surly left now!

Surly - Furious
a 6.2% ABV 99 IBU IPA from the folks at Surly..  damn this is a big beer for a regular IPA.  Another one of theirs that I've heard great things about, so let's see!  Fills the pint glass perfectly with a clear burnt copper pour, just the right amount of head.  Citrus hops spill over from the glass.. big, bold, but nice and balanced.  Floral and grassy notes poke through the orange/pineapple/grapefruit aroma..  only some touches of caramel and nutty malts.  It already smells thick and resinous.  The taste is more subdued than the nose would suggest..but everything is in balance here.  The hops are bright, tropical, grassy.. but not overpowering.  They give a perfect, mouth-watering bitterness without drying and killing your palate.  The malts give just enough sweetness to keep you coming back for more.  This is so in-balance, so drinkable, yet huge and impressive in a very saturated beer category.. the biggest setbacks are a touch of metallic tones in the finish and the simple fact that you can't get Surly here!  Jokes on me!

- - 9 Hops!