Thursday, July 10, 2014

Northbound Ground Rule Double IPA


Northbound Ground Rule Double IPA. 8% ABV. 96 IBU.

Crimson-colored, hazed, with a sizable, though short-lived white cap.

Aroma: Bright, fresh, and vibrant citrus blast in the nose, orange and lemon and grapefruit. Beautifully bitter. All of our favorite hops are here: Cascade, columbus, centennial: the citrus-y C hops, and they're doing it up in grand style.

Taste: Big hop bitterness attacks the palate at first gulp, and slides down the throat, coating the tongue, and slicking the back. Total domination. There's just enough malt to keep it all in place, but the hops are in the spotlight here, and on every stage. Full-bodied, long bitter finish. Citrus hops aplenty. This delivers everything you want in your DIPA. I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts, because I have a feeling it won't be around for long.

I may be biased, but this DIPA belongs up there among the best of them.

Once more, the straight scoop from the brewer: The third in our baseball series, this year's Ground Rule Double IPA is packed full of the "Big C's": Columbus, Cascade, and Centennial hops…dank hops. There is a significant malt backbone to stand up to the huge amount of hops. The malt was kept simple to let the hop flavor be the star of the show. Again, Centennial hops are in high demand and difficult to find. That's because people like them a lot. We used a heavy amount of Centennials in this beer to accommodate.

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