Saturday, August 6, 2011

National IPA Day: Southern Tier Unearthly

Two days ago was National IPA day, so given the opportunity/excuse to drink a beer I’m going to. So while I was grocery shopping with A Bird which was it’s own form of treat slash torture I grabbed a bottle of IPA to celebrate National IPA Day.

Unearthly

***The picture is blurry just like I was after drinking this monster

The beer poured a dark amber and produced a generous “pillowy” head. It was very slightly cloudy. The aroma was not what I had expected. I was looking for an almost overpowering smell of hops, but  what I got was something more delicate. The hops were definitely there but nicely blended with flowery, herbal and almost “perfumey” (I’m not sure that’s a word but you get the point) notes. The whole aroma was very enticing.

Then I took my first sip and was pleasantly surprised again. I was expecting a heavy bitterness and bite up front that smacks you in the face practically yelling “I’M AN IPA, DAMN IT!”, but instead I got a really smooth almost creamy mouthfeel that let the ale notes come before the bite of hops and bitterness came in the finish. Then  like any good IPA, the more I drank of it the stronger the hops and bitterness became.

Overall this was a great IPA and I’m not an IPA guy. Plus it is an Imperial so it was 9.5% alcohol and it was very deceptive. When you were drinking it, the beer was so well balanced that you didn’t notice the alcohol  until it was too late. I would definitely recommend you pick up this beer and enjoy.

Keep ‘em tippin’!

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