If you’re a big fan of bitter libations such as India Pale Ales, scientists at the University of Innsbruck in Austria have uncovered that you’re also more likely to exhibit malevolent personality traits. Basically, you’re a psycho. Peaks and Pints wonders what personality traits the U of I would uncover for brewers who brew unusual IPAs. We’re not talking about IPA sub-styles such as Fruit IPAs, New England IPAs and Coffee IPAs. No, we’re pondering IPAs with ingredients of many and varied origins, and embody the spirit of experimentation including IPAs transformed into a different style. We dug up five such IPAs and threw them in our Craft Beer Crosscut 9.28.17: A Flight of Unique IPAs. Come to think of it, what does it say about you if you drink this flight of the day?
Lagunitas Sakitumi
9% ABV, 42 IBU
Lagunitas Brewing Co. released another OneHitter Series ale, Sakitumi, an ale brewed with sake yeast and rice. No, it’s true. This Raging Bull’uva double-ish IPA is punched with sake yeast and rice, then hopped-up for a “cold-clip of counter-balanced bitterness.” Wait! Lagunitas has more boxing puns for this craft beer: “Be it the Beast from the East, Raging Bull, the Count of Monte Fisto, an Italian Stallion, The Bonecrusher, The Executioner, The Body Snatcher, The Greatest, the Cincinnati Flash, the Dogtown Dynamo or Nonpareil … it just don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing (sorry about the, Floyd). Knock this back with a friend. Cheers!” We’re knock out by its sweet, earthy, nutty malt flavor with a bit of vanilla and citrus. Yes, it has sake notes, but all bitter spicy hops in the finish.
Evil Twin Old Fashioned Lemonade IPA
7% ABV, 70 IBU
A Swedish brewery and a Danish brewery collaborated on what could best be described as Country Time lemonade stirred with an extra scoop (like you used to add when mom wasn’t looking). Evil Twin Brewing Co. teamed up with good old Swedes Henok and Karl of the fashionable Omnipollo to squeeze out a tasty, tempting and deceivingly well-balanced IPA with sweet and sour notes of old-fashioned memories. There’s unmistakably an IPA in here — spicy, piney, and full-bodied — with a touch of lactose and blended with refreshing lemon juice.
Stone Fruitallica
8% ABV, 80 IBU
The first in Stone Brewing Co.’s heavy metal-inspired series of collaborations is Fruitallica IPA, a collaboration with Beavertown Brewing of London and Garage Project, a small brewery based in Aro Valley, Wellington, New Zealand. A worldwide collaboration indeed, this double IPA is brewed with kiwi, yuzu and habanero. The kiwi rocks first along with assorted tropical flavor. The backend brings a balanced amount of heat from the habanero that rolls into a piney, resinous bitterness.
Schooner EXACT Grinderface
9.9% ABV, 100 IBU
Schooner EXACT’s Grinderface Barleywine grabbed a bronze medal at the 2017 Washington Beer Awards this past summer. We guess the judges weren’t afraid of the name or the 1,000 pounds of grain in a 10-barrel batch. Grinderface began as the Seattle brewery’s Evil Tendencies Triple IPA before said grains grinded away at the 10 percent IPA. The yearlong aging in oak barrels adds vanilla, coconut and caramelized fruit to the nose. It hits the tongue dry, with coconut, vanilla and wood. It’s drinkable with a smooth mouthfeel.
Avery Hog Heaven Imperial Red IPA
9.2% ABV, 104 IBU
Avery Brewing’s Hog heaven Imperial Red IPA grabbed two silver medal wins at the Great American Beer Festival in 2004 and 2007, and subsequently set the stage for the bold Avery beers that would follow, such as The Maharaja in 2005, Rumpkin in 2011 and Tweak in 2014. Hog Heaven was originally classified as a “Dry-Hopped Barleywine-Style Ale” because, in 1998, there was no other way to classify this mighty, flavorful 9 percent beer. As a symbol of how times have drastically changed in today’s beer industry, Avery Brewing updated the style name to Imperial Red IPA in 2016 to more accurately reflect the beer’s style. After all this time, it is still a beloved beer by Avery Brewing employees and is frequently consumed during celebratory times at the brewery. The intense dry-hop nose and the alcohol content are perfectly balanced with a caramel malt backbone. This is a serious beer for serious beer aficionados.
