Beer Rant

Alright it's late on a Sunday I'm still up so that must mean another chance to endulge myself in some beer bloggery! I finally made it to the finish line, yes I am going to right about a fully fledged India Pale Ale.....sort of. For this IPA I chose the Infidel Lime IPA from Trade Route brewing. This brewery was once named Laughing Bhudda, and located in the ever scenic South Park. After being sued by a bunch of crochety Aussies, the name was changed, and for my own good graces the brewery moved the much more convenient Algona (think Auburn minus the classiness). So to by this beer I only had to travel a couple of minutes down the road. Last time I went you could not purchase this out of the tap, so as far as fresh goes your probably going to have to settle for the bottle. That is okay, cause this is a wonderfully different IPA that has a great flavor. Many IPAs add a little more citrus to them during the process, most of the time something like orange peels and so on. This is the first one I've ever had that went with a Lime addition. The end result is very pleasing to the senses. Now it is brewed with Kaffir lime leaves, and I'm not sure if that is why but the lime seems to take a little of the edge and sting out of the IPA. By that it has a nicely smooth and rounded finish to it, not the other extreme of IPA where it feels like the hoppiness is going to cut right through your tongue! Don't panic either, because the hoppiness is still there, and the beer makes sure you don't forget it. It is a fairly strong one for a standard IPA weighing in at a healthy 7.5% alc. The best way I can describe it is that the hoppiness of the brew will initially hit your mouth, and taper off with a smooth lime flavor on the back end. As a result neither flavor really overpowers the other, leading to a nicely finished beer with a citrus taste that complements all aspects of it. I dare say I enjoy the Lime flavor over some of the other citrus flavors I've caught added to some other IPAs in the past. And for anyone out there who is OCD or simply overly color coordinated the bottle is green like a lime, see that sesame street episode did come in handy. For a little more culture like all of their bottles, you get a lovely Asian style silhouette and their tradmark junk sail image. I did pick this one up at the brewery, but their bottles are pretty well marketed at a great many markets Top Food, 99 bottles, and I've even seen one here and there at a Fred Meyer so hopefully finding one of these delightful IPAs doesn't become a full blown quest. IPA drinkers be bold and try your tried and true favorite with a little different tinge courtesy of your friends at Trade Route Brewing.