New Belgium and Alpine - Lips of Faith Super IPA

Super IPA is a 9% DIPA collaboration between the folks at New Belgium and Alpine brewing company. This will be a great way for those who have never had an Alpine beer to try their take on hoppy goodness. And goodness is what this is. It has been available in the LA area for about a week and probably won't last too long; I assume it will be the same around the country. I expect that this won't be made again, since the Lips of Faith collaborations are usually one-offs, so grab this while you can!

Appearance: Bright, clear orange, with about 2-3 fingers of head (was initially much taller than can be seen in the photo) and leaves dense lacing on the sides of the glass.

Smell: WHOA. Such an intense nose, bursting with tropical fruit like mango and pineapple, a bit of dankness and a lot of pine, and more citrus from tangerine.

Taste: So big, fruity, and sweet, but not in a malt-forward way: the fruit flavors from the hops contribute sweetness, while the malt backbone plays a necessary supporting role, but doesn't offer any additional flavor. Also on the palate are slightly grassy notes. Overall, I feel like I can taste mango, orange zest, resin, and a bit of biscuit in addition to the slight grass. There is no burn from the alcohol or astringent flavor.

Mouthfeel: A little slick and oily, but otherwise medium bodied and a reasonably, but not incredibly, dry finish. Despite the slight oiliness, it's remarkably drinkable for such a boozy and hoppy beer.

Overall: I've been having a bunch of delicious, fresh IPAs this week. POOR ME, not. Anyway, this is such a good beer. I don't know how long it will keep before the hops start to fall off, but as of now it's been one of my favorite new IPAs of the season. It's kind of hard, just based on flavors and tasting notes, to differentiate between these beers -- hops will tend to contribute the same flavor categories, so it often comes down to overall complexity and balance. For me, the nose is also huge. It really contributes to my overall enjoyment if it smells as good as it tastes, which this beer does.

4.5/5

Alpine - Nelson

Alpine says: "This golden IPA has the addition of rye to enhance the flavor profile and gives it that 'something special.' We use Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand, prized for their white wine, fruity flavor. The scent of fresh grapefruit greets you each time you lift your glass." Nelson is a "single" 7% ABV IPA.

I've written about Alpine IPAs before, but it's worth mentioning again that this brewery really excels at their hoppy offerings. Every Alpine IPA I've tried has been complex, balanced, and overall delicious. This is, actually, the first time I've ever tried Nelson! Being the small brewery that they are, Alpine's distribution is very limited, even in southern California, and it's become even more limited since the infamous "Expo incident" (essentially, the people at Alpine think that people from LA like to go out to Alpine, buy their beer, and put it on ebay, so they don't let too much of their beer go to LA or leave the brewery in general anymore.) I'm frustrated by their proclamation, myself, but who am I to tell them what to do with their beer?

Appearance: Nelson is golden orange, with an extremely dense, tall head that leaves tons of tightly-webbed lacing on the sides of the glass and a thin foam layer on top of the beer. The carbonation is visible, and the beer is mostly clear.

Smell: The scents of rye and citrus are front and center, and there is a sweetness present, but it seems to come more from the fruit and floral aromas than from any noticeable malt.

Taste: The first wave of flavor includes a pleasantly sharp punch from the hops, which contribute floral characteristics as well as orange and grapefruit flavors. Then the rye comes in and while the rye flavor is unmistakable, the immediate effect of the flavor is to "round the edges" on the hop profile, so to speak. If the hops are sharp or biting, the rye is smooth and creamy. The notes play together so well. Though flavors from the malt backbone never come to the forefront, there is a sturdiness behind the hops and the rye that comes from a perfect malt balance.

Mouthfeel: Nelson is medium bodied and very creamy, but not slick. I wouldn't say the beer has a dry finish, but a mild spiciness on the back of the palate cuts through the creamy feeling and prevents it from being overpowering or too rich.

Overall: I expect greatness when I'm drinking an Alpine IPA, and Nelson delivered. This is truly a great beer, particularly if you're a fan of rye. My one complaint would be that I would have liked a slightly brighter nose, but the taste and mouthfeel are dead-on. This is excellent.

4.5/5

Alpine Beer Company - Exponential Hoppiness

"Expo" is a triple (!!!) IPA that is 11% ABV. Yes, it's a whole lotta IPA. It's a very limited release from Alpine, which is a tiny brewery in a tiny town (Alpine, CA) a bit east of San Diego. You won't see it outside the brewery (or eBay...) and they're threatening to not even bottle it anymore, so we'll see what the fate of this beer is. A friend was able to grab one for me down there, which is why I was lucky enough to be able to review it today.

 

Appearance: The beer is light in color and pours flaxen gold. It isn't until the glass is more full that you start to notice its red tones. It's definitely cloudy, and the head doesn't top 2 fingers, but there is definitely some lacing left on the sides of the glass.

Smell: Pine, tropical fruit. It's earthy, floral, and fruity. Surprisingly, this 11% beer brings no heat to the nose. I'm very pleasantly surprised!

Taste: This is how I remember Pliny the Younger tasting last year (February 2011): very strong hop character, with a solid backbone of sweet grain. Fruits are very present, including notes of mango, peach, and apricot; the fruit notes are all on the sweeter side. There is a bit of earthy pine, but the lingering taste is bready grain. There is no alcohol burn, even once the beer warms up. Again, for an 11% IPA, this is shocking.

Mouthfeel: It's a bit syrupy and thick in the mouth, not the most refreshing mouthfeel, but certainly appropriate for the boldness of flavor and the style. If it were possible to make it lighter, that would be incredible, but I'm so in awe that I don't taste alcohol that I don't care how thick the beer feels.

Overall: This is a QUALITY triple IPA. I alluded to this earlier, but I was disappointed with the reigning deity of triple IPAs -- Pliny the Younger -- this year. It drank kind of hot and lacked balance. This batch of Expo, on the other hand, is hoppy as hell, but it somehow still doesn't come across as overly aggressive. This is definitely a beer that all hopheads should try if they can get their hands on it. It is pretty sought after as it is, but for me this holds its own with Younger and should rank up there with it. Younger is currently the #1 beer in the world on Beer Advocate, but I'd put money on Expo holding up in a blind tasting.

5/5

Alpine Brewing - Duet

IPA, 7% ABV

This bottle was purchased at Alpine itself (really growing to love that place) four days ago, so it's lovely and wonderfully fresh. I've gotta love Alpine for not shying away from big earthy hop character, so having one of their fantastic IPAs fresh is a real treat. It's called Duet because of the "simcoe and amarillo hops in harmony."

Appearance: It's a really perfect butterscotch honey color. As you can see, it's perfectly clear, and it pours a small one-finger's worth of head; however, the head retention is really great and stayed throughout the whole time I drank from the glass.

Smell: Immediate aromas are tropical fruit and spicy grass.

Taste: The first taste to hit the tongue is the spicy freshness of the hops. I then get mango and pineapple, and it's the fruit character that contributes most of the apparent sweetness, not any huge malt background (yay from me!) As the beer warmed up, a bite from the alcohol at the end became more apparent, which is a bit surprising from a 7% IPA, but it wasn't unpleasant.

Mouthfeel: The body is nice -- full and thick, with moderate carbonation that plays nicely with the bitterness to lighten up the overall effect. It's very bright, clean, and refreshing, without being dry.

Overall: This isn't a particularly "unique" IPA, but it doesn't have to be. It's a great representation of the style, and I'd highly recommend it to fellow hopheads. I love the mixture of tropical fruit and earthy grass/pine in both the smell and the taste (something that the ineffable Pliny the Elder brings to the table) and would happily bring this into regular rotation, if such a thing existed any longer -- "regular rotation" is a relic of a time when I wasn't trying to pretentiously blog every new beer I try. But enough about me -- try "Duet." I think I still prefer Pure Hoppiness, but I'd have to do a side-by-side to elaborate why. I may have just thrown a bunch of unintended shade, but really, this is an awesome beer.

5/5

Alpine Brewing - Pure Hoppiness

Double IPA, 8% ABV

I totally spaced and forgot to take a picture. So this one is lovingly "borrowed" from bonbeer, who from the looks of it has tasted a whole hell of a lot of beer.

Appearance: It's clear and golden honey-colored, with about two fingers of head, minimal lacing left behind.

Smell: The predominant smell is floral hops, including rose and lavender, with a skotch of honey. There is a bit of tropical fruit as well, but mostly it's hops hops hops.

Taste: This beer is very hop-forward and not too heavy on the malt, which you know by now is what I like. Hops are present throughout, but different characteristics become present throughout the body of the beer. The beginning to mid notes are fruity, like tangerine or apricot, and then it transitions to a spicy-piney hop character on the finish.

Mouthfeel: It's got a rather satisfying feel on the tongue. It's rich and thick, but both the carbonation and the spicy bitterness of the hops add levity.

Overall: This is definitely a hop-enthusiast's beer. It smells absolutely fantastic, and the taste is no b.s. -- it's hops all the way. I can't imagine anyone who loves IPAs and double IPAs who wouldn't like this beer. Despite the forwardness of the hops in Pure Hoppiness (apt name), it's not medicinal or soapy or astringent-like, as can happen. It's very clean, aromatic, and all-around a great example of the style. It's almost certainly too much for someone who isn't an IPA fan, but for those of us who are, this is a very drinkable and enjoyable DIPA.

5/5