Mendocino Brewing Company is one of those breweries that I didn’t know about until I received one of their beers via a “beer of the month club” package. Out of this package I got two beers, one of them the Black Hawk Stout and the other the White Hawk IPA. Today I’ll be reviewing the White Hawk as it is 60 degrees at the end of January, and an IPA seems fitting and refreshing.
Bell’s Hopslam Ale is one of those beers I look forward to its release each year. After getting word a semi-local distributor received cases, I promptly drove 50 minutes one way to acquire one. Bottled on 1/9/2012, these are extremely fresh and hopefully tasting just like I remember last year: hoppy, bitter, citrusy and sweet.
Maximus and IPA are two words that belong together, their destiny is to be imprinted on a bottle of beer. That’s just what Lagunitas did, they took plenty of hops, malt, and yeast to make the Maximus IPA. Clocking in at 72.41 IBUs there should be some decent bitterness, but not so much that it is difficult to create a well rounded IPA.
I grabbed the L’Ultima Luna by Birrificio Del Ducato in Italy from my local bottle shop, and was told by the clerk that this was an amazing English Barleywine. Aged in oak barrels for nine months that previously contained “great Italian wines,” I am expecting a nice additional layer of barrel and wine flavors.
Barleywines can be hit or miss for me, I either love it or can do without it. When you get a good Barleywine it hits all the perfect notes and you just want more of it. Sam Adam’s most recent entry in the world of Barleywines is the Griffin’s Bow, which is an 11.5% ABV oak-aged Barleywine. Promising notes of honeysuckle, pineapple, brown sugar, and toffee, it looks good on the outside.
