Beer Rant

Well I found myself unable to sleep this evening, a side effect of an ever changing shift schedule, and a weekend of festivals and celebrations. So I figured why not wittle away some of these sleepless minutes blathering away about some beer huh? For this blog I chose to write about a particular celebration that took place in May, a new operation referred to as Seattle Beer Week. The week was filled with events ranging from simple IPA fests at pubs like Duck Island Ale House, or Brouwers annual Sour Beer Fest (regrettably I missed the second one on opening day). Basically for one week it was good times with beer across many of Seattle's finer beer drinking locations. In honor of this new festival one of my favorite breweries of all time Hale's Ales, brewed a special Seattle Beer Week 2010 ale. For this initial outing the brewery chose to brew a double IPA. For the math challenged, or those of us who simply need a little mind break, a double IPA is alot like a regular IPA only usually near double the alcky percentage than that of a regular IPA. What's the difference between this and an Imperial IPA? Well nothing really their both crafted in the same manner, I will say this for IPAs each brewery, for each different variant, loves to make that hop soup taste a little different. This one while being strong in the alchol department as per usual with this specific type, does not have a smothering hoppiness to it. The overall drinking experience is rather smooth. For anyone looking for death by hop, this is not your beer. This Double IPA also does not have a strong sweetness to it that is typical with a great many stronger IPA types when the alcohol levels start to climb upwards in strength. Actually the best way to describe the taste of this one oddly enough is a smooth tanginess. It had that kind of edgy taste I'd assort with some apples or other kinds of acidic fruit, but not anything really like a normal hop flavor. Nor is it specifically the taste of lemon or lime you may find added quite frequently to these types of ales. It almost tastes like an IPA mixed with some flavoring from a bland can of minute maid orange juice. I know a strange description to say the least, but this Double IPA was not really standing out like the standard in this category in the least. I definitely say it's worth a try, it was not bad at all, just something different in an extremely overfilled category. The smell of the ale follows the taste, no strong hop stench or anything of that nature, just a really subdued tangy kind of smell, with a hint of hop to it. On the bottle there is a nice logo of the Seattle Beer Week image, with the standard Hale's logo naturally. The beer can be picked up at most places Hale's Ales are sold, I've seen it at all the specialty beer stores, and some lingering at a couple Fred Meyers and Top Foods around the area. It's also on tap at a good many pubs around the area, and also made an appearance at the Washington Brewer's Festival (another awesome festival all should attend) this weekend. Well for all you hefty IPA lovers out there, another molding of the hop is now available for you to saturate your mouths to, and taste something a little unique in an area of brewing that seems to have no ceiling, or signs of scarcity.