I was caught a little short this month, as one of the beers we’d brought in didn’t hold up so well. Lacking a hoppy beer for this months pack I needed to source one that was already in the country. I didn’t think it would be that hard, but there really weren’t that many options available that fitted the criteria.
Slightly self-indulgently I’ve grabbed a beer from one of the US pioneer breweries. I almost opted for the Pale Ale, as this beer was something of a game-changer in its day. But this beer was a great memory for me, and I hadn’t had one in some time.
Holidaying in the US around 2005, we went to a San Francisco 49’ers game, which was a great spectacle. A visit to the canteen sourced a ‘monster dog’, and to my surprise and delight, the bar offered up a range of Sierra Nevada beers with Torpedo being my favourite. That’s how you cater a sporting event!
Even after all these years, I really enjoyed having this beer again. (And I’ve subsequently had a few now!) It is just a very solid West Coast IPA. The ‘Hop Torpedo’ that Sierra Nevada devised for dry hopping this beer also gives the name. Whole cone Magnum and Crystal hops in the boil give the punchy 65 bitterness units, while dry hopping with Crystal, Magnum and Citra give citrus, tropical and pine notes, with a solid malt body carrying it all. I’m sure more than a few of you have had this beer before, but hopefully everyone is happy to enjoy it again.
Bevog's core range IPA is a really nice balance between fruity and floral hops and the solid malt body
An old-school triple dry-hopped IPA, with a solid malt body and a Belgian yeast
De Molen's annual spring time release is 'Day & Dew' - an IPA featuring a bevy of US hops and bergamot fruit
De Molen's first take on the currently trending north-east IPA
One of De Molen's Bereft Festival 2017 beers, this is a smoked Earl Grey IPA - heavy on the smoke and tea, light on the IPA!
This is a fun IPA from De Molen with extracts of vanilla, chocolate and orange
The spring seasonal offering from De Molen is technically an India Pale Lager
A beer sitting between a pale ale and an IPA, celebrating 50 years of Maris Otter malt
An old-school IPA, the gift of De Molen's brew team to John Brus for his recent marriage to partner Petra
A west coast IPA from one of California's early microbreweries
by Brouwerij Emelisse/Slot-Oostende
20% rye, 10% smoked malt with Simcoe and Cascade hops
A clean, crisp and sessional IPA from the team at Troubadour
by Brouwerij Palm (Swinkels Family Brewers)
An English-style IPA from the third generation Martin's family brewery
An IPA featuring a bevy of different hops, with a big caramel malt body
An IPA from Kees, finished with a French saison yeast for an interesting mix of beer styles
Kees' version of a NEIPA - or at least a hazy IPA - full of Citra, Mosaic and Loral hops
Pineapple, coriander and szechuan peppers plus a little lactose make for an intriguing milkshake IPA
As the label suggest, this is an IPA brewed using all French ingredients
Described as an International IPA, this beer is full of mango and citrus
An IPA which mixes the influences of both the Anglo-Saxon and US versions of this style
Our first beer from Poland's Maltgarden brewery is this DDH Hazy IPA
A super-tasty hazy IPA featuring Enigma and experimental hop HBC 630
by Browar Pinta
Pinta's first ever beer was this American style IPA named 'Hops Attack'
A deliciously fruity and aromatic IPA featuring Centennial, Chinook and Columbus hops
Uiltje's flagship IPA is a superbly balanced combination of a solid malt base and loads of American hops
A variation of the original Bird of Prey with the addition of grapefruit
An old-school IPA featuring Willamette, EKG, Columbus and Centennial hops
