Now, remember I said before how I love IPAs? Well here is another IPA that I picked up on friday that I just had to try. So, not only is it a giant 650 mL bottle of hoppy IPA beer, but it also has a cool label on it with multiple fonts used in the name and a illustration of the Devil (click for image). Which makes me think of another great IPA that I should really post about in the near future - Great Lakes Brewery's 666 Devil's Pale Ale!
Now at $5.90 for a bottle, it is quite steep, but I feel like since it's 650 mL that is a bit more justified. Most average beer bottles contain around 330 mL so really this is just under two bottles worth of beer. If you consider too that it's 6% beer, after two of these, you won't be as good at doing the math so whatever, it's the taste that matters! Right? Right? Right.
Now, this thing pours pretty damn smooth, clear, and brown. Doesn't have as much of an amber colour as I'm used to, but hey, it's still no dark ass stout so I guess it's pretty red. The aroma, as I take my first sip, is definitely hoppy, reminds me of all the delicious IPAs that I've been lucky enough to drink the past couple years. On first sip, it's really quite pleasant, not too strong and mildly bitter towards the end of the gulp. It's got a very clean taste to it, not too heavy and not too sweet. I'd say the key word here is 'pleasant'. It's inoffensively tasty. Compared to the 666 that I mentioned earlier, I'd say this is a little less bitter and easier to drink. It's still unmistakably hoppy and bitter, but this would be a good beer to start someone on hoppy IPAs. One of the reasons why I say this is because all the intense flavours really disappear from your mouth fast. Unlike most strong hoppy IPAs, the flavour will linger and at times you may need to eat something to tame the beast of bitterness. Really though, when you remove that lingering intensity, you also remove that rich flavour. To me this is very casual. It's a passive and clean experience.
Lets try it with some food. I just made some white rice which is strangely salty. After a bite of the salty rice and a sip of the beer... not much to report. The flavour is almost completely the same. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, but I think that I have to come to the conclusion that while this is a pleasant IPA it's not entirely a unique or bold one.
Okay, so it's not fair of me to complain about this beer when it says right on the label that it's balanced by mountain spring water, or something. I think that this beer aims to be a clear and clean experience. Why knock a beer for succeeding at what it aims? Or maybe I'm assuming its aims? Or maybe I just tried Frank's Red Hot Sauce on a Triscuit and liked it? So much so that I had a second one with even more drops of the fiery stuff. That may be an indication of who you are dealing with - someone who likes flavour. I may like simple flavour or extreme flavour but I like flavour. The problem with this beer is that it does have okay flavour but the flavour is not unique and it comes in an all-too-nice package of clean and clear. It has nothing new to say and it's not screaming that nothing at me either. That is what I look for in everything from beer to movies to books to music to life. I want it to be something interesting and new but also I want it to be stated to me boldly. At least get one of those things right! Right?
Okay, after the big rant there, I have decided that this is a good beer. Good.
75% : Tasty, hoppy, IPA goodness. Very clear and clean. Very passive too. If you're a hophead like me you'll enjoy it, but you won't be blown away. This is the kind of beer that I'd buy for a session of beers to drink after the third or fourth beer when I'm starting to not care as much about flavour but don't exactly want to give in to drinking mediocre beer. I'd also buy this for a friend, so it's kind of a gateway. This and Innis & Gunn would be a good start for those wanting to get into better beers.
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