Bent Paddle Brewing Bent Hop Golden IPA

If there were ever two guys I know who were meant to break free and form their own brewery, it's Colin Mullen and Bryon Tonnis. Bryon was Todd Haug's replacement as head brewer at the downtown Minneapolis location of the corporate brewpub chain, Rock Bottom. Colin had been working under the less restrictive, decidedly uncorporate yoke of Barley John's Brewpub in New Brighton. The took their wives, (Karen and Laura, repectively)who both have ties to the area, to Duluth and got to work on Bent Paddle Brewing Company.

They opened up in mid May of this year, with a tap room and a canning line. Cans of their first two beers actually just showed up yesterday at one specially selected Minneapolis liquor store, and they were gone in hours. Happily, good ol' Dave Anderson was kind enough to share a can each of their beers that he'd brought back with him last week. Black Ale still sits and waits in the fridge, but I cracked up their IPA, and here come the notes:

Bent Paddle Brewing Company, Bent Hop Golden IPA India Pale Ale, Craft Brewed in Duluth, MN. 6.2% Alc./Vol.

Clear and golden, good looking head of pure white foam above, stays around, lazily leaving lace.

Aroma: ah! nicely spicy, pine and citrus notes, lemon and orange peel. Fresh and zesty. Likeable…maybe lovable.

Taste: Enters the palate mildly, but drops a lot of hop bitterness . Peppery spice character at first, leading to slightly vegetal/celery-like character. Hops never stop, malt holds it's own, keeping it light, but tight. Citrus and pine flavors keep on coming, hanging high on the palate, a nice layer of tasty, bitter hoppitude.

Here's an IPA just the way we hop-heads like it. You know what they say these days" "who needs another IPA?" Well, I think Duluth needs this IPA, and the Twin Cities could use it, too. Don't think we have one quite like it, though Summit Saga comes close. What else would this replace? Maybe Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

What's on the can? "An unexpected visual bend to an American India Pale Ale, this style is one that stands out in a crowd. Or if you're more like us--enjoyed at a camp site, with no crowd."