IPA stands for Immediate Polarizing Argument

Amy and I have been drinking beer for a long time, but we’ve come a long way from the halcyon college days of PBR and Honey Brown. In a city like Boston where fresh, local, craft beer is abundant, navigating a beer menu at your favorite bar can be as complex a task as...well...the wine menu.

That’s where we come in. Now, we’re not experts of any type (except at drinking, we have a handle on that), but between us our palettes have covered a world of craft-brewed beer. We’ve decided to share some of that experience with you, and maybe give you a leg-up when you need a great beer to go with...whatever!

So sit back, relax, and read on (preferably with a beer in hand) as we argue with each other about styles, ratings, flavors, and brewers. We’ll be keeping it pretty local (Boston Metro area), with a smattering of regional and national selections now and then, and our rating system will allow us to give beers 5 possible points, with an overall 10 between the two of us. The system is simple, but we’ll try to keep things interesting.

Raise a glass and let’s get down to drinking!

The Audacity of Hops

by Cambridge Brewing Company

Belgian Style Double IP - 8.0% ABV - Cambridge, MA


Paul: I’m a fan of IPA’s, and this beer from the Cambridge Brewing Company didn’t disappoint, serving up the big citrusy flavors I’ve come to know and love. However, the best part of this beer comes in the balance of the malty Belgian flavors and yeast (the style is classified as a Belgian Double IPA). On the nose I got healthy notes of orange zest, fresh flowers, and a dash of clover honey. In the glass, the beer had light, lacy foam with slight carbonation and a cloudy wheat hue. As a Double IPA at 8% you get some of the heat on the palate, but the flavors are dominated primarily by orange and floral notes on the front followed by a light malty sweetness on the back. Overall, an excellent and well-balanced beer. Unlike some other hop monsters I’ve tried that have a lot of power but no nuance, this one provides both in healthy measure. I’ll be back for more.

Amy: IPAs are about my least favorite beer and I admit that I fully expected to hate The Audacity of Hops. Surprise surprise, I didn’t hate it! The beer calls itself a Belgian-style IPA and it had a beautiful reddish-gold honey color to it. It was unfiltered, so it was a little cloudy, but that also gave it a richness that a lot of IPAs lack. As Paul noted, there was a lot of citrus in the beer. The flavor was really up-front and I got orange blossom, lemon zest, and even a pleasant, green grass taste. It definitely had some bitter orange pith flavor to it, which isn’t my favorite, but I did enjoy the brightness. I feel like the flavors that were too bold and even harsh would have been well balanced by more sweetness and creaminess. I’m still not an IPA cheerleader, but I’d certainly order a pint of this next time I see it on the menu.

Paul’s rating: 4.5 out of 5

Amy’s rating: 2.5 out of 5

Total:

FlagRaiser IPA 

by Slumbrew

IPA - 7.5% ABV - Somerville, MA


Paul: This IPA from Somerville’s new-ish Slumbrew Brewing Company got some mixed responses from the table. The citrus notes were there, as well as some malt in the background, but we felt that the balance could be improved. In the glass, the beer features copper and auburn colors with short white foam. The nose gave us some simple citrus, hop, and floral aromas, and we got some big hops on the taste. Those hops were good, but the beer seemed to lose complexity through the back of the palate. The beer is a good, simple IPA. In other words, I might take it out to dinner, but I’m not sure it would get a second date. I’ve had good product from these folks in the past, but the competition is too stiff out there right now for there to be a balance problem in an IPA. The market is too glutted with hop monsters and Belgian Doubles for that to fly.  

Amy: Mixed reviews? Oh Paul, don’t mince words. I HATED this IPA. Coming off of the unexpectedly good Audacity of Hops by CBC, I had high hopes for my second IPA review. Instead, total disappointment. From the moment I held my glass to my nose and inhaled, I was bored. The nose had a mild flowery smell that held no interest for me. What flower? Dunno, don’t care. The taste wasn’t quite boring, but it certainly wasn’t good. There was a really upfront coffee flavor, but only the bitterness and none of the richness. The backend was pretty much non-existent. In between...a slight celery flavor. Really. Overall it was just bitter, my least favorite aspect of IPAs, but with no character to even begin to win me over. One possible saving feature: I did wonder how the Flagraiser would stand up to some spicy BBQ. However, I’d never order this beer just to sip.

Paul’s Rating: 2 out of 5

Amy’s Rating: 1 out of 5

Total:

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