IPA Style Guide

Are you confused by all the different IPA styles? Here is a good breakdown of different IPA styles from beer writer Matthew Curtis in MASH, which looks like a UK trade publication. The article includes definitions of IPA styles I have never heard of (Mountain IPA), an IPA style the author made up (London IPA), IPA styles I have never tried (Sour IPAs and Milk Shake IPAs), and IPA styles I'd like forget (White IPA and Brut IPA). It even goes so far as to kick Session IPAs out of the IPA style altogether, and add India Pale Lagers (IPLs), two decisions I approve. 

Reading this article I realized the Modern Times' Neverwhere IPA I wrote about earlier this week is a Farmhouse IPA. (This is an IPA style that needs to trend! #farmhouseipa.) Curtis gives examples for most of the IPA styles. It's a UK publication, so not all examples are available in the United States. Of course, as soon as you read a style guide you think of beers that bend the style guide, like Societe Brewing's Pupil IPA that has Nelson hops from New Zealand and Citra and Centennial Hops from the United States. So is it a New Zealand IPA or a West Coast IPA? Does it matter? 

AleSmith IPA Returns

AleSmith IPA my old friend

Step on in and let me shake your hand

So glad that you're here again*

What's old is new again. AleSmith Brewing Company has re-released its original IPA in 16 oz cans. This has become my go-to beer this summer, and it is outstanding. It has that classic West Coast IPA taste profile of pine and citrus. Its bitterness is not overwhelming (or as bitter as I remember it) but it is still sharp enough to extend through the beer's long finish. AleSmith IPA is brewed with Citra and Columbus hops and has a 7.25% abv, which is just right given the malt level. This beer tastes modern (the Citra hops? where they around when AleSmith IPA was first brewed?), and does not transport me back to 2005. I have no problem with AleSmith refreshing its reboot.

The packaging on this beer is outstanding. The yellow and green design, which reminds me of the Oakland Athletics or Green Bay Packers, is eye-catching yet restrained and sleek. I did not buy this beer for its wrapper, but if I did not know AleSmith IPA I would have bought it for the look of the can alone. I know greed is not good, but I would like to see AlesSmith re-release YuleSmith, X Extra Pale Ale, and Anvil ESB in 16 oz cans. 

* From Steely Dan's Midnight Cruiser, with modifications.

Stone Brewing's New CEO

Stone Brewing has hired a new CEO. Maria Stipp, formerly of Heineken-owned Lagunitas Brewing, takes over from Dominic Engles who resigned last month. Stone co-founder Steve Wagner had been serving as interim CEO and will remain in that position until Stipp starts on September 14, 2020. Both Wagner and co-founder Greg Koch will remain active at Stone. According to San Diego Beer News (link above), Stipp's duties include: "overseeing Stone's breweries on the West and East Coast, its hospitality venues (two Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens restaurants, plus seven Stone Brewing Tap Room locations), Stone Distributing Co. and distribution of Stone beers to all 50 states and more than 40 countries. She will also sit on the company's board of directors."

Stone had some bad press this summer, which I am not going to address here, but if you follow craft beer you know the stories. The Beer Rover wishes Ms. Stipp the best and is willing to give her and Stone the benefit of the doubt. Stone gets plenty of grief on-line and any mis-step is relished. Stone's hiring of Stipp is a right step.

Neverwhere

When it first opened back in 2013, I found the beers from Modern Times Beer fine enough, but not exciting. Lomaland was a decent saison, and if I remember right, Blazing World, not marketed then as an IPA, and Fortunate Islands, then a hoppy wheat beer and now a pale ale, were good but not stellar beers. I thought Black House stout the best beer from the new brewery. I did, though, appreciate Modern Times' attempt to build a core list of beers and avoid the all-IPA, all the time route. Then, soon after it opened, I bought a bottle of Modern Times' special release Neverwhere, an IPA that used Brettanomyces yeast, a yeast used in sours and wild ales, not IPAs. I found it bold and creative, a beer that worked at all my sensory levels. It was funky and intense of character, but remained easy to drink. Neverwhere, in my opinion, raised Modern Times to the level of a serious brewery.

Earlier this summer, in its first July special release, Modern Times re-released Neverwhere in 16 oz cans. I am not sure how much this version of Neverwhere adheres to the original recipe, but it still has a heavy Brett influence, which I liked in the first version. It has a 7.0% abv, nice tropical sweetness, and a funky dryness. It poured orange with a slight cloud; not clear like a West Coast IPA, but not a hazy IPA either.

Modern Times described the beer as,"Fermented with an irrepressibly tropical strain of Brett yeast and hopped with generous amounts of 100% Citra hops, this beer is an explosion of pineapple-laden fruit character, without the tartness of funk typically associated with Brett beers." It had minimal hop bitterness, and I disagree with Modern Times' claim that Neverwhere does not have tartness or funk; it does and that is the joy of the beer, and why you want to drink it. 

Since 2013, Modern Times has earned its status as an elite brewery. It retired Lomaland; Blazing World is now called an IPA; and Black House remains excellent. Modern Times has added beers to its core line up, including Ice pilsner, and releases a number of seasonal and regular monthly beers. It also offers one or two special releases of canned and bottled beers per month, which may include collaborations with other breweries. Modern Times can push boundaries with these beers, and it is where it offered Neverwhere. 

The environment surrounding IPAs has changed since 2013. Hazy IPAs, nonexistent in 2013, have become common, of which Modern Times is a master, and new hops varieties have been developed to lessen bitterness and enhance fruit flavors. I half-expected reality and seven years of IPA evolution to tarnish my opinion of Neverwhere. That did not happen. Neverwhere is still one heck of a standout beer. 

The Hop Concept's IPA

The Hop Concept makes standout IPAs like Dank and Sticky and Citrus and Piney, but these 8.5% adv double IPAs are too much for casual drinking. They take over and punctuate an evening. The Hop Concept recently (I am not sure when) released THC IPA with a moderate 6.0% abv. Perfection. THC IPA is a robust beer and drinks bigger than its modest abv. Its bright citrus and tropical juiciness give a rush of flavor, and its bitterness is modest. You can smell THC's Mosaic and Idaho 7 hops as soon as you open the can. This beer is one of the best IPAs I have had this year. 

Thought Power

Dang, last night I searched Stone Brewing's website to see it had released or planned to release its 24th anniversary beer. I did not see anything. Then a few hours ago I got an email notification from Stone announcing the release of its 24th Anniversary Digeridoom Double IPA. The power of positive thinking.

Digeridoom Double IPA contains Australian hops Galaxy, Ella, and Vic Secret, and has a sensible 8.1% abv (at least as far as a double IPA abv). It comes in 22 oz bombers, too, which are not popular any more, but a size I still appreciate. Stone says this beer is available now - August 17, 2020 - so I am going to pop over to Stone Liberty Station to get a bomber.

Culture Canceled

I have started this post more than a few times and always deleted it for various reasons. I need to get it out of my system before I can write other posts. 

Culture Brewing's Ocean Beach tasting room closed on April 19, 2020, and it still makes me sad. The closing was not pandemic-related, despite the date, but due to a big rent increase. I found Culture's tasting room an inclusive space, a real reflection of the community, which I know is an overused cliche. In this case the cliche was true. All types passed through the tasting room to enjoy beer, and no one cared or judged. A couple in their sixties was as common as a couple in their twenties. Women could drink without unwanted advances. As a middle-aged white man in a mostly white community, I know I am not the best judge of this, nor do I claim to be super aware, but it seemed to me that people of color were treated no different than anyone else at Culture. I hope I am right, and not just wishful thinking.

Culture's staff created this egalitarian space. Whether on purpose, or through the aura of the place, or because it is in independent Ocean Beach, the staff's calm, friendly approach did not waiver, even on nights when Culture was busy, or when new people were hired. I generally stopped at Culture once or twice a week for five years, whether for a crowler fill or for a taster while on other errands in Ocean Beach. I did not hang out there and drink sessions of pints, so maybe my experience is limited, but I saw various levels of crowds and different servers, and the staff remained cool, fair, and welcoming. (I never saw anyone drunk or belligerent, either.)

It is hard to capture the karma of the Culture's Ocean Beach tasting room. As mentioned above, maybe it was the variety of people who stopped in, I'd always see someone I had not seen before. Maybe it was the number of dogs, which I am not a fan of but that were part of the place. Maybe it was not having a TV. Maybe it was not blasting music. Maybe it was the rotation of local art displays. Maybe it was the wall lined with barrels aging beer, or the high ceilings, or the metal bar. I know it was not the beer, because Culture's best beers are mediocre. I guess all these things together made Culture work.

I know there are other tasting rooms in Ocean Beach; tasting rooms that offer better beer. None have the same ambience of Culture. Novo Brazil is taking over Culture's tasting room so there'll still be craft beer along with seltzer, cider, kombucha, or what ever other drink Novo offers that I'll never try. Sure, I intend to give Novo a try but for some reason I am expecting a Bro fest. 

Culture was unique, but I don't want it replicated. Nostalgia can turn to poison. Culture's tasting room was a positive addition to Ocean Beach and I do not think I am only one who misses it.

(The picture above is Culture's Pale Ale from my last growler fill at the Ocean Beach tasting room.)

Self Righteous

Stone Brewing's Sublimely Self Righteous black IPA made a comeback this spring to brighten time spent sheltering in place. Sublimely Self Righteous first appeared in 2007 as Stone's 11th Anniversary beer, and soon after became part of Stone's year-round beer offerings until its retirement in 2015. Part of the beauty of brewing is that nothing needs to stay retired for ever, and Stone has returned to its recipe vault with great success. Late last week I picked up a crowler of Sublimely Self Righteous at Stone's Liberty Station World Bistro & Garden's tasting room, and I am all in for Stone revisiting its classics.

In my mind, black IPAs were designed, in part, as bitter or more aggressive stouts (and also an attempt to label any style an IPA). What hit me with Sublimely Self Righteous was not so much its bitterness, but its upfront and all around sweetness. If dessert beers were a category, Sublimely Self Righteous would land in the center of it. The candied dark malts evoked chocolate and coffee, and Stone did a good job of hiding the 8.7% abv.

When I drink black IPAs I expect the hop flavors to standout, but I cannot think of a case where this has happened, and if Stone can't do it, no one can. I find Sublimely Self Righteous excellent, not because of its hops, but because the hops mix so well with the malt. The sweetness required to match the heavy hops and malt define this beer. Without it, the malt would suffocate taste, like having a loaf of dark bread shoved in your mouth, or the hops would turn the beer acrid, or the 8.7% abv would make it a boozy mess. Instead, it shines; no gags from too much malt, no burnt bitter winces from excessive hops, and no singes from alcohol heat. Sublimely Self Righteous is Stone exhibiting its master brewing techniques.

I can't drink a beer this big on a regular basis, it's beer gluttony. I feel the same way about Enjoy By, which is released four times a year. Stone's idea to make Sublimely Self Righteous a special release is smart, and at least for me, increases its demand factor.

Courtesy

I try to keep positive on this blog, but I have to vent. If you order beer or food to go, or pick beer and food to go: WEAR A FACE MASK AND SOCIAL DISTANCE. Please do not turn employees at restaurants and breweries into enforcement police. It is rude, it is not their job, and you are putting them at risk as well as making them uncomfortable. You know the rules - obey them!

Over the past week I have been at several restaurants and breweries where some patrons had to be reminded to put on masks and that they had to wait in line. Yes, even if you order online, you have to wait with everyone else for pickup. It is not that hard, I promise. Don't be a Karen - or way more likely - a Male Karen.

Glimmers of Hope - II

The West Coaster had a link to this spreadsheet today, which is a crowdsourced status update of San Diego breweries. You can find this spreadsheet on the San Diego Brewers Guild's website. The database of breweries is a good reference. In looking through the list, I am impressed by how many breweries are operating and selling beer at some level. If I am reading the spreadsheet right, only two breweries have closed permanently, Escondido Brewing and Iron Fist Brewing, and only a handful of other breweries are closed due to COVID-19. The good news is how many breweries are open and selling beer in some form. I did notice that Blind Lady / Automatic Brewing is listed as closed, but in reading Blind Lady's instagram, it is now selling some food and beer on weekends. Last weekend was its second weekend and its stock of foods sold out fast.

I am not going to guess how or when the COVID-19 pandemic ends. Reading this list gives me hope that my initial fears back in March of widespread closures and a permanent change to San Diego's craft beer industry may have been false fears.

Glimmers of Hope

In the twenty minutes it took me to write the previous post on Societe's Pupil I received one of Societe's regular update emails. The opening note is worth repeating in full:

To all of our incredible and loyal fans, thank you.  Thank you for the 8 years of support leading up to the Covid-19 crisis. Thank you for the continued patronage these past 8 weeks.  And thank you for being excited about future releases.  Prior to the pandemic, 90% of our beer was consumed from kegs at bars and restaurants.  Luckily though, we got our own canning line up and running in mid-January and have pivoted hard into packaging. What used to look like a kegging factory now looks like a canning factory.  Our sales team, production team, and retail team have been hard at work making this drastic shift feel normal and thanks to you, we’re now looking to buy more tanks to increase our capacity!  For those of you who miss our tasting room, please know that we miss you too.  And I guarantee you that every bar and restaurant that you miss also misses you.  While it will take some time for this to pass, every time you purchase or drink a Societe beer, you’re indirectly thinking of us here at the brewery and those thoughts definitely make us sleep a little bit better.  Cheers to your health.

Societe is "looking to buy more tanks to increase our (its) capacity." This is incredible. Societe shifted to cans when 90% of its business stopped and now needs added capacity, which must be from demand. From a craft beer industry standpoint this is some of the best news I have read in a long time. It also says a lot about the management and employees at Societe that an established business can adapt and transform its production so fast.

Pupil "That Beer"

The Indie Beer Show is back podcasting again, and on the May 5, 2020, episode (at about 21 minutes into the podcast), Brandon Hernandez made a statement I am still thinking about. To paraphrase him, he said if Societe Brewing's Pupil IPA had been released a few years earlier, it could have been the Sculpin of the beer world, or "that beer." Brandon's right. Now this could not have been possible because Societe did not exist when Sculpin became Sculpin, and he clarifies this. But the point is that Pupil is so good and such a standout beer, it could have had the same impact on the beer world as Sculpin, which Ballast Point rode to its $1 billion sale to Constellation.

Pupil IPA (7.5% abv) is still a standout beer. Every time I have one I tell myself how good a beer it is, and I have been saying this to myself for eight years. I don't doubt Pupil could have stood in for the role of Sculpin in the craft beer world, but then Pupil would have changed, Societe would have changed, and everything Societe would have sucked, except maybe Doug's and Travis's bank accounts.

Upheaval due to COVID-19 happens fast. Years' of business and product cycles are now occurring in the span weeks. I just want a pint of Pupil's consistency.