Fulton Hop Kingdom American IPA

 Fulton Hop Kingdom American IPA .

5.8% ABV, 35 IBU, Fulton Beer, Minneapolis, MN.

Something new in the brand family. 

Clear, bright golden hue, slim white head.

In the nose: fresh zest, citrus notes, moderately hopped.

In the mouth: more moderation in the name of refreshment. Crisp and fairly clean. Mild and easy going, medium bodied with a good measure of hop bitterness. Sure, I can see this as a boat beer, a dock beer, even a pier beer. 

This one came as part of the latest Hop Kingdom. Variety pack, replacing Juicy IPA. 

In the land of 10,000 IPAs, this cooler beer is a real catch. Crafted for unspooling lakeside stories of lures and lore – balanced hop notes of Citra, Galaxy, and Motueka marry sweet grapefruit piths and bitter orange peel for an American IPA fit for the walleye capital of the world.

BlackStack Ales for ALS

BlackStack Ales for ALS. TIPA.

10% ABV. BlackStack Brewing, St. Paul, MN. 

Ever so hazy. Bright golden hue. Sizable slab of ivory foam.

In the nose: Soft and hoppy. Citrusy and sweet. 

In the mouth: Fruit blast on the palate. Virtually no bitterness. And the booze starts to boom. Citrus and tropical flavors on the tongue. Juicy stuff, cloudy and soft. Like all of the hazies. I can see why some of you love this stuff, but my feet and firmly stuck to the ground on this issue. They just don't taste like IPAs, not like double IPAs, and certainly not what I know as triples. 

If you ever see a review here of a beer from BlackStack that is not a hazy IPA, it's quite possible that I bought it with my own money. If you catch me giving out the same old complaints about the hazies, more than likely a sample can from the brewery drifted down to me and I can't hold back. I could refuse the gift, but that goes against my principles. 

Put together by the fine folks at Loftus Ranches for ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. This blend features an extremely juice forward combination of Citra, Mosaic, Talus, Ekuanot, HBC 630, HBC 344 & a dash of Sabro.