I have been avoiding writing about this style for a while now. It’s pretty much everywhere and people seem to either love it or hate it. People that love it are often accused of lying about it to look like they are “with it.” Even though what “it” is, is scary, smells like a barber shop when the AC breaks down and tastes like spiked piss. Then this happened:
[…]
My TI: Flight!
Me: Kill! (Parade Rest)
My TI: Attention!
Me: Osama! (Attention)
Sorry about that. Back to your regularly scheduled programing.
True. Also discussed in this thread is if Whole Foods Girl is attractive with gauged earlobes. The short answer is, maybe.
I did no such thing.
Screw it. This is my review of Bear Republic Racer 5 India Pale Ale. Hat Tip: Sean, Tundra, Playa(Hate-ah)Manhattan, et al.
Ready your rotten cabbage, ladies.
For the record, I found this one as a single at Total Wine but I have seen it in numerous places like Fry’s(Kroger), Safeway and BevMo. Since I am in Arizona, this wide distribution is likely due to my location and thus cannot speak to how far their reach is. This isn’t the first time I have had this one, but it has been a long time. Since there are so many California brands in my area, there is a fair bit of difficulty in keeping up with all of them. Then there are the local brands which for the most part are as good or better, but the Arizona brewers tend to focus on styles that aren’t this extreme. The reason? When it’s hot out the last thing I want is an IPA and I don’t think I’m alone.
India Pale Ale tends to lose its potency over time. The oils and aromatics in the hops that dominate the style break down, particularly when it comes in contact with light. Yes, even if it is stored in a brown bottle. Because of this, I always recommend finding a local brewer that makes a good version of the style, for me that’s Four Peaks Hop Knot. Fresh beer is always better and somebody that makes it nearby will likely give you the best version available for the style. Don’t have a good one? The Stone “Enjoy Before” series is your best bet. It’s not always available, but they give you the date specifically because that is the date they recommend will meet their quality standards. The idea behind this style is they over-hopped the beer in England back in the day so it could make it to their English customers in India and still taste like a traditional Pale Ale.
I tried this once when I came across a Stone Ruination IPA at a gas station about a year ago. Note, I did not say Ruination 2.0, this was the original still sitting in the corner on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator at an Arco station. It was old, and quite frankly there is proof of concept as it tasted like a terrible pale ale. If you come across this one with the green label, avoid it.
Racer 5 is pretty good for the type of style it is. Without looking it up, I would guess it is the Cascade/Centennial Hop combination that I mentioned before. It’s made in the dry-hopped “West Coast” style that seems to generate the polarizing views. I’ve been drinking a lot of balanced or malty beers lately, so it was quite the experience and even cleared my sinuses. Very fragrant in the glass but it seemed to leave a dry, bitter feeling afterwards. There are a lot of citrus notes, and it is definitely not malty. Overall, it’s a good example of the West Coast IPA style so if this is the style you like, you will enjoy it. I’m not always up for it though. Bear Republic Racer 5 India Pale Ale: 3.2/5. Other good examples include the aforementioned Four Peaks Hop Knot. Of the nationally distributed brands Sam Adams Rebel IPA, Dogfish 60 or 90 Minute IPA, Stone Ruination IPA 2.0, New Belgium Ranger IPA, Elysian Immortal IPA and if you have Avery in your area, most of their versions are very good as well.
Winner winner, drink a Pinner!
The alternative is finding one that pays homage to the traditional English version. Oskar Blues Pinner IPA is a good example. They don’t list the hops used on their website (surprise!) but I believe they lean heavily on traditional English hops. Interestingly enough, they were going for something else entirely when they made it. This one is very light, and it does not have a lot of body to it but it does taste more malty than what one would normally find from this style. The head in the photo disappeared rather quickly but to be fair, this is something I have found in all this brand’s styles.
I will say this one is almost sweet compared to Racer 5. Oskar Blues Pinner IPA: 3.2/5. Another version to consider is Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA, and if you look closely in the import section at Total Wine you will find actual English IPA from time to time. Not many other examples from the US come to mind.
Ah ipa the discerning gentleman’s beer. As i may have said before i like ipa beers but i find that lazy breweres think trowing hops at a beer makes it better. Wrong, to quote the philosopher king. But a well made ipa is mighty fine beer
Everything is a balancing act, even with IPA.
I was in Amsterdam visiting friends last few days and i must say it is much more hipster than vienna or munich which are places i visited often. Now i scowl at hipsters as much as the next.guy but i have to admit this leads to much better beer food and coffe selection. Vienna is proud of their coffee culture but it is difficult to get good coffee there. Similar with beer in Munich if you dont like generic german beer, which i dont. Anyhoo i had several dutch ipas.recently but i forgot to write down the names and forgot most of them. But some were good. Some not so much. I remember stone ipa which was actually german and pretty good and Hoop Limited Edition No 3 – Oatmeal IPA which was also not bad
Amsterdam and Vienna are my favorite cities in Europe. Munich is great, but second to them.
Did you stop at Cafe Gollem or De Bierkonig? I recommend both.
My favorite city in Europe.is London, and.Barcelona and Paris rank above amsterdam i would say
Oh…a hat tip! Thanks Pie. Nice review.
Oooops. That shoulda been a thanks to Mexican Sharpshooter. I did enjoy the write up, even if I confused the author with the poster above me.
Mex, you are doing the Lord’s work in some of the toughest beers in America.
I am soon heading out to my local to hoist a couple. Happy Veterans Day to you.
Excellent review as usual MS!
Regarding the traditional English vs American IPAs, when I was in London this summer a bartender told me that Lagunitas outsells the traditionals 10-1 (Murica! Fuck yeah!). I tried a couple (ok a bunch) of the British ones and guess what? I fucking loved them, too.
But, just to prove I can branch out I tried a couple of these. Very tasty and perfect for a cold Minnesota night.
Thanks for the work you do.
That beer looks delicious.
When I think Oatmeal, I think of this one:
https://www.samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk/product/oatmeal-stout/
It was really good with a big steak, and it’s relatively easy to find.
That was my very first non-domestic swill beer as a teenager and I’ve loved it ever since.
When I think oatmeal, I think Wilford Brimley.
-1 Diabeeetus.
Have a Happy Veterans day as well!
Do try to keep your celebrations within the normal spectrum of legality…
I’ll keep Oscar Blues in mind for an English style IPA. Thanks! I like English style IPAs. American style I usually avoid because I can’t stand the hops that are commonly used in American IPAs.
I used to really love IPAs.
One of my favorite beers that was widely available used to be Bass, the original IPA.
My understanding is that they brew a special version for the U.S. market now–whatever they did to it, they ruined it.
The craft brewers showed up, and it seemed to become a a race to see who could make the most undrinkable IPA. I don’t know what the proper term for it is, but I believe it comes from too much hops. It’s like as the enthusiast beer community IPAs that were too hoppy for the wider market, just as the mass producers were making IPAs more like Bud Light or beer flavored Kool Aid for the general market–meanwhile the flavorful, drinkable IPAs got lost in the shuffle.
Entrepreneurs tailor things for whatever market they’re targeting, and where the enthusiast market wants beers than no one but them can stand to drink, the broader market still wants beer that’s essentially flavorless.
So, the one IPA I’ve found that I really still like is made for a general market–in just one state! Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to present Cuthroat
http://www.uintabrewing.com/products/cutthroat
As of the last time I looked, this beer isn’t “exported” out of Utah, and in line with the idea that certain beers are made for certain markets, they’re brewing this beer for a general market–but only the general market within Utah. The state is half Mormon! So, yeah, if you want a beer that’s so hoppy only a beer enthusiast can stand it, that brewer makes those, too–and they export it all over the country.
On the other hand, a small brewer making a beer pitched to beer enthusiasts that’s drinkable–is going to get relatively low marks on beer advocate. What’s the point of being a beer snob if you can’t look down your nose at people? So they’ve just made Cutthroat for the local market.
To me, the great thing about IPAs is that they taste great the first glass–and the sixth one tastes as good as the first. That doesn’t happen with a lot of other beers. If their flavor is so distinctive (in micro IPAs so hoppy), the more you drink, the worse it tastes. Bass wasn’t like that, and it was still muey flavorful. Drink it with food, and it’s great. Drink it alone, and it’s great–and the eighth one tastes as good as the first. I can’t even order a black and tan anymore without getting it with Bass Kool AId.
Cutthroat is like Bass used to be. Incidentally, it’s named after a local fish, and when I go fishing with my brother in Utah, that’s my go to beer. (Last trip netted three rainbow and a brook trout).
It is horrific what the markets have done to the IPA. I suspect that the market is in a transition stage. Over time, these over hoppy IPAs will go the way of . . .
You know what it’s like? It’s like when Pabst Blue Ribbon reemerged. That became like a hipster icon–because it was so awful. When something is so awful that only a hipster can stand it, that’s something that’s probably not going to last. It’s like what happened to punk rock, back when they all crossed over and became “crossover thrash”. All these years later, nobody likes or remembers Suicidal Tendencies for their stupid metal records, and when they get back together and play, everybody wants to hear the shit off their first, punk rock record. They thought they were “selling out”–but the market doesn’t even remember the thrash bands of old anymore, the market wants the stuff from before they “sold out”. In fact, they didn’t really “sell out”; they just sold their original sound short–by mistake.
And the mainstream ignored them all anyway.
Flavorful, good drinking beer is the same way. The beer hipsters at the advocate may hype the hoppy revolution like the sell outs once hyped the future of “crossover thrash”, but the market isn’t done with IPAs yet.
No matter how hard the hipsters try to destroy it, the IPA will rise again!
My go to Utah beer is Provo Girl Pilsner. Quite tasty with a good label.
That brewer has a couple of controversial local brews and labels
http://www.wasatchbeers.com/beers.aspx
Check out the label for Polygamy Porter (“Why have just one?”)
Also the label for Devastator–it’s got a bunch of Mormon imagery in the label, with a temple, representations from Mormon doctrinal visions of Joseph Smith, or some such . . .
I understand they’ve gotten a lot of grief from the locals, not just for their labels, at first, but just for brewing beer in the state. I think the labels were supposed to be kind of in your face, kiss my ass, read between the lines, motherfucker.
“If you’re going to sin, sin big. With 8% alc/vol and a creamy richness, this brew has developed a serious cult following. Imagine that – a cult following in Utah?!”
I bought a Polygamy Porter t-shirt for a buddy of mine on a trip through there. He ended up leaving his wife and moving to Nigeria where multiple wives is not uncommon. I am not sure if the two things are related.
Yes, that brewer is very in your face with labeling and mottos. I think it is awesome. Utah is a weird place with perhaps the most awesome landscapes in the country.
Polygamy Porter is good. That brewery’s entire lineup pokes fun at LDS stereotypes.
I like that label.
To be fair, the girl on the label seems pretty accurate. For some damn reason those LDS girls seem to be at least 3 integers above the mean. That’s how they keep the church alive and well.
I ran the picture of the hot Indian woman through Google Image Search, and the first hit was a Return of Kings derp-fest.
I figured it was a Bollywood actres of some type. I just found the first image That worked.
I tried this once when I came across a Stone Ruination IPA at a gas station about a year ago. Note, I did not say Ruination 2.0, this was the original still sitting in the corner on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator at an Arco station. It was old, and quite frankly there is proof of concept as it tasted like a terrible pale ale. If you come across this one with the green label, avoid it.
If you are going to grab an old single from a gas station, you have to pair it with the most shriveled up hot dog on the roller cooker. I am surprised you missed that pairing MS.
I shall try the Pinner when I visit the Oskar Blues establishment that just opened here. I am not much of an IPA fan but will hold onto my cabbages and give it a try. Thanks for the tip.
If you’re looking for nationally distributed ones, New Belgium makes some solid IPA’s, as does Sierra Nevada, and of course Stone. If you’re going regionally, if you get Russian River beers get the Pliny and the Blind Pig both are world class. In the Midwest, we’ve got Brewdog, Bells, and Founders all of which make solid beers and have a decent distribution footprint. In New England, you’ve got the Alchemist’s beers as well as Lawson. Come to my neck of the woods, and we’ve got Fat Heads, Brew Kettle, and Masthead (all of whom have won GABF medals for IPA’s).
I only eat hot dogs from Quick Trip. Sorry.
Oh, and since this is a beer thread, this year’s Trader Joe’s Vintage Ale is available in stores, at $6 a bomber. Just picked up my first two of the year and have one chilling and the other parked in the cellar along all of the previous vintages.
Coincidentally i picked this up today and cracked it before I loaded this thread. I love Unibroue brews. This particular one goes great with stews, pâte, sausages, and cheeses. Thumbs up.
i dislike the wine-ification of beer.
Which part? The removal of beer names and the changing to just a brewery and a style? The vintages and aging? The sipping with pinkies out?
the fancy glasses, the high-culture aspirations, the fussing about its very minor qualities as though you’re not actually quaffing it in large quantities.
i could go on, but i wont. its beer, you drink it.
*fyi: this was not a ding on the reviews, which are fine and welcome
it was more the cultural thing, where you have beardo beer snob bartenders waxing poetic when asked what exactly some bizarre named thing on tap is all about. just give me a sip in a glass, bub.
I’m with ya, pal.
I get that. I am close to the same opinion. I got some sneers from a bartender at the New Belgium pub in DIA when I ordered a Coors. I was flying home after being out of the country, and by god I wanted a Coors at the moment. I did not want to try whatever new twist on beer they had concocted. The employee/owner bartender looked at me like I was a low brow knuckle dragging neanderthal. Which I am, but that is not the point.
I do like to try new things on occasion though.
I ate there the last time I was at DIA. The salad was terrible. The beer was pretty good but I thought it was funny they had Ccors on tap.
Ya, their food is shit. We have been over the food in DIA though. Elway’s is the place. There is also a hot dog place that is good and has numerous beer selections. I don’t remember the name.
Why the duck sneer if you offer it? Pathetic assclown.
Understood, and I dislike the bartenders who look down on people for what they order as well. There are times to try something new, and times to try an old favorite. Down with beer snobs, up with beer geeks.
I like IPAs, there I said it, good write up MS, as usual,
A Fine Veterans day to you Sir!
You as well. Happy Veterans Day!
If you like really strong beers, Belgians are the way to go. I really like Chimay Blue and St Bernadus No. 12.
If hops are your thing, Hop Stupid Ale is about the most intense one there is.
Hop stoopid is Gross, their Maximus and Dark Swan are really good though. But Chimay, mmmmmm
Going to BevMO!
Chimay Blue and St Bernadus No. 12.
Excellent choices.
I drank 4(?) St Beranduses at a bar near my apartment one cold Chicago night. I remember drinking and the next thing I remember was waking up in my bed. I may have crawled home. I don’t remember what happened that night very well.
dramatic re-enactment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD402UhKM9M
HA! My 25th birthday I drank a 6 pack of Grimbergen Tripel and enjoyed a similar experience; except mine involved the unremembered visit to Krystal Burger and the consumption of a sack full of their vile offerings… “It’s Steamed“®
*has frat flashback to Krystal*
Another really strong beer I’d recommend: Green Flash Barleywine.
It’s not so much that I hate this style of beer as that I’ve lived on the West Coast for so long that I’m just bored by it at this point. I’ve tried many, many variations on “overwhelmingly alcoholic beer with such heavy hopping that the malts can’t be tasted” like this, and I’m just over it.
My favorite English-style IPA is Samuel Smith India Ale (available at BevMo in California when we lived there, not sure about elsewhere). But I will keep the Oskar Blues in mind.
Raise a glass for these guys:
***
On June 21, 2006, Monti served as the assistant leader of a 16-man patrol and leader of a weapons forward observer team tasked with gathering intelligence in Gowardesh, Nuristan Province, in northeastern Afghanistan. The team established a small base on a ridge to support a larger Army operation in the valley below. When the larger operation was delayed, Monti’s team ran low on provisions. The helicopter that brought supplies revealed the team’s position.[7]
That evening, the patrol was attacked by a group of at least 60 insurgents, who had established two positions on a wooded ridge about 50 yards above the patrol and attempted to outflank Monti and his team. The Americans took cover and returned fire, and Monti radioed for artillery and close air support. Enemy fire killed Staff Sergeant Patrick Lybert. Another Soldier, Specialist Brian J. Bradbury, was severely wounded and left lying in the open between the enemy and the team’s position. Staff Sergeant Chris Cunningham, leader of the patrol’s sniper team, called out that he was going to try to rescue Bradbury. Monti replied, “That’s my guy. I am going to get him.”[7]
Monti made three attempts to reach Bradbury. On his first, he advanced to within three feet of Bradbury before being forced back by intense machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fire. His second try was similarly turned back and as the rest of his patrol provided covering fire, Monti advanced a third time but was struck by an RPG. Some news reports indicated that the explosion blew off both of his legs,[8] but this is not supported by family accounts or military records. Monti attempted to crawl back towards cover. He is reported by comrades to have made his peace with God and asked Sgt. Cunningham to tell his parents he loved them. Monti died moments later.[9] At about the same time, the artillery and air support for which he had called began hitting the enemy position, killing 22 of the attackers and dispersing the rest.[6][7]
SPC Bradbury subsequently died during his evacuation when the cable on the rescue hoist lifting him to a 159th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) helicopter broke. The fall also killed Staff Sergeant Heathe Craig, 28, a medic from Severn, Maryland
***
War sucks. People die.
Raise a glass for these guys:
Done
Hoisting a Founders Wee Heavy. Is that bagpipes I hear?
I’ll drink to that.
Wow pushing a QB down with your hands is now targeting. Refs suck.
Unless you’re Anthony Barr. 😡
We used to call that a tackle.
2 hours till I’m drinking heady topper
This has all the hallmarks of a fake crime. Evidently wants to get in on the metoo.
http://nbc4i.com/2017/11/10/ohio-university-student-says-three-men-groped-her-in-parking-lot/
This is fishy.
***
Man at heart of Clinton ‘dirt’ claim disappears
Professor Joseph Misfud, one of the main subjects in the FBI affidavit against candidate Donald Trump’s ex-foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous, has disappeared.
***
***
Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese academic suspected of being a link between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, was once a regular on the foreign policy circuit, attending conferences the world over.
Now, after being identified as a key figure in the US special counsel investigation into Russian influence over the 2016 US presidential election, Mifsud has gone to ground.
Last Thursday he disappeared from the private university in Rome where he teaches. Repeated attempts to reach him since have been unsuccessful, though he appears to have read some messages from CNN.
But more details are emerging of the background and contacts of the man who emerged last week as “the professor” in court filings relating to charges brought against former Trump aide George Papadopoulos.
In the US affidavit, Papadopoulos claims Mifsued — referred to as “Foreign Contact 1” — told him in April 2016 that the Russians had “thousands of emails” relating to Hillary Clinton.
***
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/08/politics/joseph-mifsud-trump-russia-investigation/index.html
I don’t remember STEVE SMITH being in ZARDOZ.
OT:
I can’t imagine why.
Why won’t they hire me?
Eek! Is that a priz jumpsuit, I wonder.
I’d lay odds that it’s correctional garb. Like, long-odds.
Sorry, short odds. Very short.
Ever seen an astronaut with a face tattoo? Yeah, there’s a reason for that.
Chakotay?
And he was a pangalactic doofus. QED.
My wife loves that ersion of Star Trek. I call Chakotay Mexican Reicher.
You know who else was a Reicher?
Just started watching Voyager a few months ago. Didn’t care to watch it when it aired, it’s slowly growing on me now that there isn’t any other real Trek to watch.
I bored quickly of the recycled characters. Lady Kirk. Black Spock. Hot Data. Everyday Feminism Worf and the like.
file under: Republicans in the Mist
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/10/us/texas-gun-culture-sutherland-springs-church-shooting/index.html
***
…
The retired welding instructor stops at the station every morning for coffee before heading off to work on his property down by Cibolo Creek. On Wednesday, he encountered a reporter from New York City. Langdon started up a conversation with her as a man in a blue jean jacket watched, waiting for fresh breakfast tacos.
“You don’t have guns where you’re from,” Langdon said, more telling than asking.
“No, we don’t,” she replied.
“But the criminals do,” Langdon said.
The reporter nodded. The man waiting on tacos walked off, shaking his head.
“Well, I feel sorry for y’all,” he said, making his way to the register.
…
At the Bexar Community Shooting Range in Marion, the closest range to Sutherland Springs, manager Alex McInnnis said more shooters have been dropping by this week — not because of Sunday’s violence, but because deer season began November 4.
The 40-year-old father of one, who’s worked at the range since he was 15, doesn’t foresee the church killings altering his customers’ feelings about their weapons.
A madman, not a gun, killed those churchgoers, and the shooter could’ve easily used household chemicals or an automobile, he said as the booms of shotgun blasts and cracks of assault rifles sounded in the distance.
“You’re not blaming a truck for what happened in New York,” he said of the Halloween terror attack in Manhattan in which a man in a rental truck mowed down bystanders on a bike path.
…
Hirst has “put a lot of meat on the table with a rifle,” he said. He and Sustayta question why mass shootings always lead the country back to debates over gun laws.
The law didn’t prevent the Sutherland Springs shooter — despite a history of violence and mental instability — from procuring his weapons, so how would more laws help?
“It’s not about laws. You’re going to have to change the hearts of people, and only God can do that,” Hirst said.
Later, he nodded toward the AR-15s on the concrete table behind them: “They haven’t moved since we sit them here. Guns don’t kill people.”
Sustayta, who spent six years in the Army Reserve, said he and Hirst are 100% in favor of efforts to keep guns out of the hands of felons, the violent and the mentally ill — just like they approve of laws that keep those unfit for driving from getting behind the wheel. But he, too, doubts laws alone will alter human behavior.
“I think we can do better for sure. Can you stop it? I don’t think so,” said the father of three teenage daughters. “People have been killing people for as long as people have been around.”
***
Clearly the words of ignorant bumpkins.
Article contains numerous instances of AR-15s being called “assault rifles”.
Umm, those deer hunters checking zero are using neither shotguns nor assault rifles.
I think they meant AK-15 triple automatic assault death machine with Sarin launcher attachment.
Was there beer on this page? Cause all I saw was a smokin’ hot Hindu goddess.
But you didn’t see her wearing next to nothing. If you did I’d be encroaching on your turf, and I’m not gonna do that to you, Q.