Fifteenth Meeting

Tonight we're tasting American IPAs, brought to you by Brother Derek Weinberger. Colin, Derek, Joe, Mike, and myself are present this evening, so a few people brought multiple beers. This week we'll be tasting quite a few that are familiar to us, while there might be 1 or 2 that we haven't seen before.

Normally the host would present the first beer, however Derek's isn't properly chilled, so on to Mike's Bear Republic Racer 5. I've been excited to try this one, as it's not available in MN. It has a nice A- rating, and it comes in at 7% ABV. It's the standard IPA color and it has a quality nasal feel. It's on the citrusy side of IPAs. It's got a good malty, thick flavor. Joe said, "I like them when they're thick." That's what she said. On to the rating...

BPA: 3.46

Next up: New Glarus Moon Man. I've never seen nor heard of this IPA, but it gets a ncie rating on BA. It's a mere 5%, and it's yellower and cloudier than the last one. It smells hoppy, but it is completely balanced. It's crisp, with a pronounced presence of sea monkeys in my glass. A popular beer.

BPA: 3

This next one is very familiar to all of us. We pwned a lot of these during our fantasy baseball draft. Rush River Bubblejack IPA is the name, and 6% is the game. We're now reminiscing about how drunk we were after 12 guys drank a 16 gallon keg of this stuff a few months ago. It's a little lighter in color than the last few. It's not quite the way we remembered it tasting in contrast to the other IPAs we just tasted. It seems maltier than I remember from that fateful night in mid-March.

BPA: 2.94

Neggs up we have Great Lakes Commodore Perry. Great Lakes is a solid brewery that recently made its debut on the MN beer scene. This is also our first beer from the great state of O-H! I-O! Comes in at 7.5%. Newwwww rrrrrecooord! (Mariokart) A little more amber in color. A mild hoppy smell floods the nose to those who are bold enough to allow it entrance. It's pretty hoppy, but there is a strong bitter taste on the back end. This is on the opposite side of the spectrum as Racer 5. The Racer 5 was citrus, followed by malt. This one is hops, then bitterness at the end.

BPA: 3.14

Another familiar brew is Surly Furious. This is #50 on the BA top 100, and the fourth ranked overall IPA. It pours a darker amber and smells of sweet, syrupy hops. It's about as hoppy as a single IPA gets, however the alcohol content qualifies it as an IPA instead of a double IPA. Let it be known this has been consumed at a previous baseball draft as well.

BPA: 3.94

Odell is another brewery that's new to MN. St. Lupulin is their APA. You dig? It's 6.5% booze. There hasn't been a lot of conversation regarding this beer due to us finding Lebowski on none other than the Tv Guide Channel. Howbizaaa. On to the score.

BPA: 3.06

Now we are going to taste Sierra Nevada Ianthorpedo. Brewed in an Olympic-sized pool in Canberra, or so I've been told. 7.2. Another dark amber color, with a fairly hoppy nose-spot. This one tastes pretty syrupy and has a nice pine flavor.

BPA: 3.18

Lastly, we have Grand Teton Sweetgrass, which is an IPA that comes in at 6.5%. This one is tastier than I thought it would be. WOW, the first reactins to this beer are positive. Derek just spilled his beer all over the place. Photographic evidence to follow. Derek is having issues. Noob brain slur?

BPA: 3.32

Well that was a high quality tasting. Next up: maritime beer club aboard the SS Sarah Menden. Ahoy!