Venn Titan of Terror Hazy Triple IPA

 Venn Titan of Terror Hazy Triple IPA. With Sultana & El Dorado Salvo + Sultana Cryo, El Dorado Cryo, & Citra Cryo hops.

10% ABV. Venn Brewing, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Hazed. Unclear. Orangish hue. Slim white head.

In the nose: big, hoppy, and bright. Citrus explosion. Orange and lime and maybe a pinch of pineapple. Very nice. 

In the mouth: vibrant, electric, a pulsating buzz on the palate, a tripwire on the tongue. Huge citrus, major dank. Edging into Candyland. Alcohol starts to bubble. The warm feelings begin to glow. Medium bodied, long, hoppy finish. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. (Remember, when those five booms appear, that you should hear it with the voice of John Lee Hooker.)

Ursa Minor Big Bad John Triple IPA

 

Ursa Minor Big Bad John Triple IPA.

10.5% ABV. Ursa Minor Brewing, Duluth, Minnesota.

Lightly hazed, nearly clear, bright golden/ orange hue. Lasting, lace-leaving, lovely ivory head.

In the nose: dank and resinous, bristling with citrus and pine. 

In the mouth: oooh, wee, that’s the stuff! Popping with hops, bursting with bitterness, buzzing the palate. Intense and immense, large in body, astounding in it’s intentions. Beefy and brimming with citrus tones, stone fruit, pine, and stick-ickiness. 

I’m digging this big time. 

A truly special brew for the Ursa Minor Crew. Brewed in honor of Ben’s father, Big Bad John is the beer that inspired Ursa Minor itself. Big Bad John had a personality that filled the room. He cared about his neighbors, loved his family, and had a knack for bringing people together to enjoy life. He was humble and strong and exuded confidence. We brewed this beer to embody Johns’s personality. A triple IPA, because a double IPA was simply not enough. Filled with intense hop flavor and aroma with an alcohol level to match. A full-bodied malt backbone supports the incredible bold flavors in this brew. Strong, bold and always down for a good time. Come together, enjoy new and old friends, and share your story. Cheers!

Stone 25th Anniversary Triple IPA

Stone 25th Anniversary Triple IPA.

12.5% ABV. 100 IBU. Stone Brewing, Escondido, CA. 

I was a little disappointed when this first came out. For their 25th anniversary, surely Stone should release a 25% ABV IPA, right? I mean, it's appropriate and so easy to do. Can't be hard. So, they half-assed it, and did one at 12.5%...that's okay, ...I guess. 

Let's drink it!

Clear, bold, rich amber hue, slim white head. 

In the nose: bomb-tactic! Creeping in on barley-wine territory with the richness and intensity. This is hop aroma as crack. Candied apricot and orange peels that are actually on fire doused with fusel alcohol, laced with pixie dust and goblin tears...or something like that. This is exactly what anything calling itself "triple IPA" should smell like, nothing less. 

In the mouth: Pow! Next level. Bigness, thickness, richness, all swirling around the nucleus of hoppiness. Citrus and stone fruit flavors ride lupulin highs. While this is definitely outsized and a bit of a challenge, with a bit of an alcohol burn, I find it endlessly delicious. 

It was 25 years ago that we planted our flag in North County San Diego. We showed up to a modest, empty warehouse with some mighty big dreams. We thought people deserved a world with better beer, and were determined to be part of a cultural transformation we believed could happen… even though few others shared our vision. This massive triple IPA is another important milestone on our continuing journey. Speaking of journeys, for reasons you may guess, our 25th Anniversary Celebration in 2021 will be a bit understated for such a monumental anniversary, so we’ve decided to hold our big event in 2022 with the Stone 25+1 Years In The Making Anniversary Celebration. After a quarter of a century and quite a few twists and turns, we’re still here. Here for hops. Here for quality. Here for making great mistakes. Here for more good times. Here for another round. We thank you sincerely for the years of support and pledge that we will, as always, strive to live up to the reasons for your loyalty! 

Hop & Barrel 5th Triple IPA

 Hop & Barrel 5th Triple IPA.

10% Alc./Vol. 85 IBU. Triple India Pale Ale, Hop & Barrel Brewing, Hudson, WI.

Clouded, bright golden hue, lasting white head, leaving some lace. 

In the nose: Fruity, spicy, floral. Citrus and pine. Dank. Pungent. 

In the mouth: Boom! Hop Bomb! Aggressive, potent, powerful. Just juicy enough, but quickly turning to the dry side. Resiny, oily, flush with happiness. All the citrus, a touch of the pine, much of the green. High alcohol rises up to match the depth and the power of the alpha acids. 

Yow. Big bitterness and big booze make a damned good beer. A decadent little treat. I'll be back for more.

The first beer in our Brew Like A Girl series, crafted by women from start to finish, is a massive triple IPA.

Bell's Double Two Hearted Ale Double American IPA

 Bell's Double Two Hearted Ale Double American IPA.

11 % ABV. 91 IBU. Bell's Brewery, Comstock, MI. 

I made a last-minute switch-up when I saw this 6-pack. The store was closing in two minutes, I had loaded up my cart, but there it was, this Bell's DIPA I've heard of, but never seen, nor tried. Out you go, some other beer, this baby's coming home with me. 

Clear, burnt orange coloring, slim, but lasting white head. 

In the nose: Big malt, and big hops, too, but oncoming outsized alcohol. 11%? Whoa, Nellie! We're really treading into hoppy barleywine territory, this time. Ripe fruit aromatics, powerful and pungent. 

In the mouth: This one screams out hotness from the get-go. Deep, rich, bold and burnished. Highly hopped, bracingly bitter, with a fire around the edges. Popping pine and citrus in the flavor, and dripping out the booze in a dangerous degree, 

Drink slow, rest, relax, luxuriate. Outsized and unrepentant. This one goes to eleven. 

It's crazy from the heat, and, despite the audaciousness, it's irresponsibly delicious. Once I brought this one home, I cracked one open, and by evening's end, I'd downed two more. Not the smartest way to spend a quiet night. One, once in a while, responsibly, and with the comfort of the bedpost close at hand. 

I can only hope to make my immoral reports a tale of caution for the wayward ones out there to mend their winding ways. 

I did say delicious, though, and I meant it. 

Everything you love about our classic Two Hearted® Ale... now in a double IPA. With two and a half times the amount of Centennial hops, Double Two Hearted® has intense pine and citrus notes, a resinous hop aroma and rich malt character.

Surly Trip Hop Triple Dry-hopped IPA

Surly Trip Hop Triple Dry-hopped IPA. 

"Trippy Triple Dry-hopped.:
10.4 % ABV. Surly Brewing Company, Twin Cities, MN. 

So, today is a day, as have been other days, when a number of people have voiced their opinions about Surly Brewing. It was two days after the announcement that they're thinking about what to do about their Beer Hall employees announcing their intent to unionize that they've decided to close the Beer Hall, in two months. And they are immediately called Union Busters. And Omar's being called all kinds of names. And people are saying they'll never drink their crappy beer again.

What do I think? Closing the Beer Hall due to COVID and dealing with the union are two different things. Bad timing. Things could have gone a lot better over there in the past 4-5 years. But, I'm going to continue to try their new beers out, but not all of them. I don't play favorites, except when I do. And I haven't bought everything new they've put out in quite some time, for various reasons. 

Just for fun, here are a few Surly beers I have not had: 

* Bender w/ Fruity Pebbles.

* Carrot Cake Infusion

* Cornholio

* Creamsicle Kolsch

* Furious Old Fashioned

* Horchata Darkness

* Me and Billy Dee Malt Liquor

* Pancake Party

* Tiki Todd the AxeMan

and so on, and so forth. Most of those were festival-only, or tap room-only beers, though I have certainly passed-up many at the store. Still haven't tried the Oktoberfest this year, but I may, I just may. And this one I nearly passed up because of my rule against 4-packs that exceed the $16 mark. This one went for 19.99. I didn't like paying that, but I felt like I had to try it out.  Here come the notes: 

Lightly hazy and orange. Stable cap of ivory froth on top.

In the nose: Citrus and candy. High sweetness, looming alcohol.

In the mouth: Sticky und icky. Bitterness grabs at the palate. High hoppiness and dominant dank. Juicy, very ripe, getting into real candified territory. Big bad ABV isn't too scary yet, but it's getting there. Smoothish, despite the strength. Grabby mouthfeel. Yeah, I called it "grabby", and I mean it. 

This is a tasty treat. I do wish I'd held on the fourth can, but I didn't think my notes on can #3 were good enough, so I cracked #4 to come up with better words, then decided they were. Or, maybe I'll come up with more...we''ll see. 

It's hot, juicy, strong, intensely hoppy, a good nightcap, for sure. 

BREWED FOR UNFINISHED SYMPATHY

The beat drops and the bass throbs in this tricked-out take on the triple IPA. Dry-hopped three times with a massive attack of Lotus, Amarillo, and El Dorado hops for an intense, high-decibel blast of of hop flavor.

TRIPLE IPA

COLOR

Gold

HOPS

Amarillo

El Dorado

Lotus

MALT

2-Row

Acidulated

Carafoam

OG

YEAST

English Ale

IBU

High

ABV

10.4%

SURLY MN USA

Untitled Art Hazier Triple IPA

Untitled Art Hazier Triple IPA. 9.5 % ABV.
Untitled Art, Waunakee, WI.

And here we have the first beer from Untitled Art here in the Nib. I don't see them often at some of the stores I frequent, and I tend to skip anything that says "milkshake" or "smoothie" on the label. Or "puff". That's how it is, folks, deal with it.

This one says IPA, which I like, and tripel, which is sometimes good, and also, at the front, Hazy(Hazier), which I'm less thrilled about. It was more expensive than I like, more than $18/4-pack, but I felt like, heck, let's go in all the way with this one.

But before I begin, I went looking for more information on this particular beer, which is something that I do. What the can tells us is: Triple India Pale Ale. Brewed + Canned by Untitled Art, Waunakee, WI. And: Artist: Stephanie Kamen. So, I took to their website, and under the heading of "Beer", there are three options to click on: Artists, Collaborators, Distributors. There is no place to learn even the names of their beers, or to read any words about the recipes, ingredients, etc. But I kind of want to know some of that stuff. And then I found this, on Untappd:

Our goal is to make new and exciting beer styles available in Wisconsin. Called "Untitled Art", the beers are presented without explanation allowing the drinker to formulate their own opinion. In a market filled with exhausting back stories and kitschy names, we strip this away and let the beer speak for itself. With creative influence from Levi Funk, Untitled Art is similar to a gypsy brewery. We brew what we want, when we want it.

Okay, that's cool. It's just odd that Untappd lists 121 beers from this company, but their website won't tell me anything about any of them. That's just a little backwards. There's a lot about their sparkling waters, though.

On with the beer:

Hazy, yeah. Bright golden hue. Slim white head.

In the nose: Big citrus. Traces of sour/tart, verifiably funky. Complexity abounds, outside of the fruit.

In the mouth: Grapefruit, lemon, and orange, with an extra-urgent pungency I can't quite trace. Alcohol content reveals itself early on, limning the length of the palate, sending the fuzzies up into the brain. Flavor remains fruity and juicy, and never remotely bitter, with a side of scalding booze.

I'm not 100% sure that I'm into it. But that's what you get with your triple IPA, right? I do wish it were more of an IPA. There's some bitterness here, but not enough for my liking.

Well, I drank down 4 of them without complaint. But, I won't hand over $20 that easily again.

BlackStack Thirst Encounters of the Third Kind Triple IPA

BlackStack Thirst Encounters of the Third Kind Triple IPA.
10 % ABV. Blackstack Brewing, St. Paul, MN.

Hazed to the moon and back again. Absolutely opaque. Slim chalk white head atop.

In the nose: Citrus hop notes. Trifle tropical, too. Bits of berries below. Starting shy, soon unfolding.

In the mouth: Bright, bold, assertive. Bursting with fruity hop goodness, but barely bitter. All that hazy lies lazy on the palate. Medium bodied, soft, easy going. 10 % ABV starts ringing in loud and clear. Getting richer and thicker as we continue. Fairly powerful stuff, and we're just getting started.
Sweetness kicks in, then turns dry. Temporary bitterness on the palate, while the booze gets bolder.

This is my first beer of the night. A few hours to go in this lonely quarantine night, with other biggies on the docket. May not have been my best choice to begin, but I'm glad I had it.
Thanks, Ed!

Another year older, another year young. Another attempt to pass through the hoppy wormhole into another oil laden dimension 🌌 This expedition we took spaceship SABRO 🚀 to substation MOSAIC 🛰 in the the first sub STRATA ⚛️ where we froze the crew with EKUANOT CRYO ❄️ and handed the controls over to Robot EXPERIMENTAL HBC-692 🤖 to man the ship into another GALAXY 🪐… We started out trying to make an offensively over-hopped anniversary beer and accidentally ended up writing the synopsis to what sounds like a pretty dope sci-fi novel. I think we’re onto something here…

Wild Mind Third Round Triple IPA DDH IPA

Wild Mind Third Round Triple IPA DDH IPA.
(I mean, that's what the label reads. Pick one, guys!)
12 % ABV. 40 IBU.
Wild Mind Artisan Ales, Minneapolis, MN.

All kinds of hazy, of course. Dull orange color, slim ivory head.

In the nose: Floral, fruity hop aromas. Bright, shiny, citrusy. Sweet, tropical notes creep up next to the citrus.

In the mouth: Starts off strong and on the sweet side. From the get-go, the high-flying booze in this one is detected, far off in the distance. But, we don't mind, we're going in for the taste.
Along with the hoppy, fruity, malty flavors comes the heat. The unsubtle sting of alcohol that stands in for my night cap tonight.

This was not on tap when I went to the taproom a day after their 3rd anniversary party, but the crowlers were available. I can't say that it would be a big hit. Not a summer's day kind of a beer.

Triple IPA brewed with malted, unmalted, and flaked wheat, hopped with Citra, El Dorado, and Simcoe, and fermented using Voss Kveik yeast. The result is dank, bold, and boozy with a touch of fruit on the finish.

Venn Brewing Batch 100 Holy Trinity Triple IPA

Venn Brewing Batch # 100 Holy Trinity Triple IPA. 11.4 % ABV, 110 IBU. Venn Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Clear, bright golden hue, gorgeous snowy white head, looking lovely.

In the nose: sweetness, fruit, hops. Mostly citrus & pine. Alcoholic strength is highly apparent.

In the mouth: big citrus & pine, powerful hoppy punch. Surpringly smooth and ten kinds of tasty. Light bodied, easy-drinking (despite the 11.4% ABV). A little sharp at turns, but altogether delicious.

Yum a dum dum.

Dank, citrus, tropical fruit.
For our 100th batch we brewed a ridiculous, over-the-top Triple IPA featuring the “holy trinity” of hops: Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe. Using standard pellets, cryo pellets, resinate, and extract, it was hopped at every opportunity: Mash hops, first-wort, bittering, mid-boil, whirlpool, fermentation, and three dry hop additions.

Malts: Extra Pale Pilsner, Flaked Rice, Candi Syrup.
Hops: Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic, Idaho 7.
Yeast: American Ale. 

Surly 3dh (Triple Dry-hopped Double IPA)

Surly 3dh Triple IPA. 10% ABV. BC Small Batch. Surly Brewing Company, Brooklyn Center (& Minneapolis), MN.

Clear, bright golden color, lasting, lace-leaving ivory head.

In the nose: Fruity, citrus, tropical, but straying from sweet, ending on dry. Quite likable.

In the mouth: Whoa! Bold blast of bitter from the start, a jolt of hops to the palate, exiting swiftly and turning dry on a dime. Big citrus and pine, with alcohol rushing on in. Aburst with flavor. Stays quite far away from being overly sweet.

This has got just the right hop tastiness, the correct juicy, and all the booze without going over the top. It's giving me all the things I like, and it's getting juicy and boozy together at once.

This, I dig.

From the label: Cloaked amid the brewhouse shadows, rites and rituals conjure impossible hop flavor. Over the low rumble of equipment, whispers of a triple dry-hopped beer arise. New and unknowable, 3DH is your initiation. Join us and live.

And from the website: “The trouble with a lot of triple IPAs is that I’ve never really had one I liked.”

This, from Surly Head Brewer Ben Smith, was the hurdle to clear for making 3DH, the triple IPA that’s our latest BC Small Batch offering.

“Finding one I truly liked was difficult,” said Smith. “They’re under-attenuated, too boozy, and too sweet. It was a challenge for our brew team to solve. I think we succeeded. Maybe too well, because it’s real easy to drink for a 10% (ABV) beer.”

3DH is triple dry-hopped (hence the name) on Simcoe, Amarillo, and Citra. “We added glucose solids to make it super dry, we used a simple malt bill, and then we dry-hopped the hell out of it,” says Smith. Experimentation came into play with FLEX® by Haas, a kettle bittering addition that boosted the IBUs without losing the yield one would expect from an extensively hopped beer.

The result is a highly aromatic and flavorful triple IPA that goes right up to the edge without going over. But you can see it from there.

With that in mind, and with that many hops, the recommendation is to drink it fresh and drink it now. 45 days from the brew date is ideal. The turnover on our BC Small Batch beers is monthly, and most beer geeks don’t need to be told to chase fresh beer, but we really mean it this time. Cellar something else.

The particulars:

ABV: 10%
Hops: Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra
Aroma: Lemon, honey, biscuit
Visual: Light orange
Where: MN, ND, WI, Chicagoland
When: Now

Wild Mind Vivid Gold Triple IPA

Wild Mind Vivid Gold Triple IPA. 10.8% ABV. 75 IBU. Wild Mind Artisan Ales, Minneapolis, MN.

Lightly hazed, amber-hued, slim white head.

In the nose: big fruit, big, bold, pithy hop bitterness and fruit notes aplenty. Sweet, hoppy, bitter, beautiful. Me, I like it.

In the mouth: Big bitterness, huge fruit, tasty all the way. Alcohol creeps in, assuredly. A veritable cornucopia on the palate. Bigness upon bigness.

I have to admit it. My notes ended there. I did not go on to write the Great American Novel on the subject of Vivid Gold triple IPA, alas. But, I swam in it, I luxuriated in it, I drank in all and had a restful slumber. And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

"this was a crowler filled on 8/3/17, and purchased by me some time later, and opened on August 30. The notes remained to a state of suspended animation, while I wondered what to do about their unfinished-ness. I finally decided that they were good enough to go forward. Meanwhile, I still wonder what VGML stands for. Anyone know?)

Brewed with five pounds per barrel of hops that include Citra, Cascade, Azacca & Motueka. Notes of sweet grapefruit, pineapple, mango, papaya, bright Citrus, Fresh hay, and Stone. 

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

Dogfish Head Brewery of Delaware.

I love these guys, and I'm so glad they're back in our market. I buy them in the stores when I know it's a beer that hasn't appeared here on the nib, yet. And if I get a new one in kegs at Acadia, I tend not to take notes from on tap at the pub. So, no Beer For Breakfast or Siracusa Nera, until I find bottles. And then, we got a keg of 120 minute IPA. I don't remember even asking for it, it just showed up. That's always nice, when you are found deserving. And so, 120 Minute IPA. Tapped last Sunday, and going so fast, that I had to take a pic, and not take notes, for I'd reviewed it from a bottle way back in ....November, 2003? Almost 14 years ago? Yes, for DFH had been here, and departed, and I traded for bottles back then.

So, instead of writing new notes on this beer from on tap at Acadia, I quick took a photo of the one I had this evening, and will share with you my notes from a bottle from back then, and I believe they are better than what I could scribbled down while sitting on a bar stool:

120 Minute IPA. 

Gorgeous bright ruby red color, very sizable, bubblingly creamy head...
Aroma...massive, intense, huge, towering, flowering, flowing over in the air, in the senses, in the soul, ...big, fat fruit, grapefruit, peach, apricot, mango, more...and not too bitter, surprisingly pleasant...
...and, to taste...Oh, my goo'niss! Ah, ah, ah!!!
INCREDIBLE occurence on the palate, prodigious, amazing, and highly flavorful...floods and gushes, uplifts, elevates, urges pleasure at the very instance lip meets cup and ale enters body...full-bodied to say the least, with a long, tantalizing finish, and additional candyish notes that linger on and on...
An IPA that lays me low, knocks me down a notch, and leaves me no recourse but to bow down and let it wash over...every subsequent taste provides further onslaughts of flavor...oh, yum, yummy, McYum-Yums...
During consumption of this ale, I had no idea of the ABV, for it's been carelessly omitted from the label...20%!?!?! ...hot damn!
Sticky, fruity, gummy, sweet, this surely transcends the boundaries of the India Pale Ale, and feels closer to a barleywine, or even a mead or brackett...but whatever the Hell it is, I love it!

Yeah, I think that one covers it. The current version is labeled as 16.5% ABV, not the 20% I talked of above, but who's to quibble. It's incredible, and it's dangerous. Don't ask, I just don't want to talk about it.....