Grapefruit Sculpin IPA by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Grapefruit Sculpin IPA by Ballast Point Brewing Company use to be a bit of a white whale in many states where Ballast Point brews were available but as of lately Grapefruit Sculpin IPA by Ballast Point Brewing Company seems to become a great deal more readily available to everyone who loves quality IPAs. For those who enjoy Sculpin IPA by Ballast Point Brewing Company and enjoy the great taste of grapefruits, Grapefruit Sculpin IPA by Ballast Point Brewing Company is a go to IPA. As you can see they have started moving to cans which is supposedly goof for the environment, chills faster compared to being in a bottle, guarantees no light or oxygen gets in and doesn’t impact the flavor compared to that old metallic some of us remember decades back. Grapefruit Sculpin IPA by Ballast Point Brewing Company pours a slightly hazy golden color with a nice lacy head with a ton of grapefruit aroma and slight hints of pine and other citrus aromas. Of course when taking your first sip you can smell the grapefruit and taste it as it hits you tongue but hops help send it over the top with other hints of citrus, creamy sweet caramel flavors and a solid bite of pine and resin. What is really amazing is with 7% ABV and IBU of 70 plus an almost medium mouthfeel this amazing IPA is actually incredibly easy drinking and one of the best IPAs currently available anywhere in the world according to most review sites and I would have to agree. Grapefruit Sculpin IPA by Ballast Point Brewing Company should be on every craft beer drinker’s bucket list and it goes without saying it should be in your top 10.Ballast Point Brewing Company makes a lot of great craft brews but in regards to the Scuplin IPA it also comes without the grapefruit although your will still taste and smell it from the hops plus a habanero version that is one of the smoothest IPAs that will light you up with unbelievable amount of heat.
Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin IPA
Metamodern IPA by Oskar Blues Brewery
Metamodern IPA by Oskar Blues Brewery is one of the best of the new IPA’s to hit Florida and it was extremely welcomed as it is an amazing IPA coming in at 6.43% ABV with an IBU of 70. Metamodern IPA by Oskar Blues Brewery has a smooth malty backbone with a blend of 5 hops rarely seen from Enigma, Vic Secret, Ella, Topaz and Galaxy hops to delivering an amzing hop flavor. The Metamodern IPA by Oskar Blues Brewery has tons of great citrus aromas and flavors of passion fruit from the galaxy hops and supposedly hints of raspberry which I didn’t take note of over the passion fruit and citrus that was almost overwhelming in a good way. As you can see it pours a foggy golden color and although most IPA craft beers seem to lean to tropical fruits this IPA has a ton of citrus blended with the tropical fruit flavors for a unique and amazing IPA that is like no other in direct comparison. Although I have yet to hear anyone mention pine or resin they are there but just enough to give a bit of sharpness to the citrus and tropical flavors. Metamodern IPA by Oskar Blues Brewery is one more great brew that I would highly recommend to any hop head.
Metamodern IPA by Oskar Blues Brewery
Tocobaga Red Ale by Cigar City Brewing
First I must apologize as I’ve always try to stay non-bias but I must state up front I hold Tocobaga Red Ale by Cigar City Brewing as one of my favorite brews since I discovered it last year. If you are open to red pale ales then you must try Tocobaga Red Ale by Cigar City Brewing. It is listed as an amber style by many people but if you’ve had a chance to try this great tasting and very high quality beer then you know it is more of a red pale ale or even a red IPA in comparison. Although this beer is listed by Cigar City Brewing out of Tampa, Florida as a year round brew I’ve only been able to acquire it during the early fall over the past two years. Supposedly this is a very expensive brew and recently due to costs it has been reduced from a 6 pack to a 4 pack to allow for a profit margin which I won’t hold against Cigar City as I know the brewer’s margins are slim compared to the retailers and distributors who usually have much higher margins on craft brews. (Recently brought back as a 6 Pack!) Getting back to the brew itself this is a very smooth red ale kicking up 7.2 ABV and a 75 IBU but with the great malty backbone it almost plays down the 75 IBU with a more pale ale taste of a much lower IBU. I can find a ton of IPAs and pale ales all day but finding a red ale IPA is a bit less common and this is one of the best if not the best in that twist of styles. It has a rich malty caramel and toffee flavors with hints of biscuit malts then the citrus smells are followed with the flavors of citrus and hints of pine from the large amounts of Citra hops that have been added to the brewing process. If I had to list my top 10 favorite brews I’d have to list Tocobaga Red Ale by Cigar City Brewing and #1 favorite red ale.
Tocobaga Red Ale by Cigar City Brewing
Segal Ranch Session IPA by Green Flash
Segal Ranch Session IPA by Green Flash is the latest release from Green Flash’s Hop Odyssey line and it is an Session IPA exploding with flavor at only 4.5% ABV. This great craft beer is stacked at 65 IBU with Tomahawk, Centennial, and Cascade hops all hand picked from Segal Ranch in Yakima, Washington. Segal Ranch Session IPA by Green Flash pours a golden straw color with a mild carbonation and the aroma has hints of citrus but the first taste is actually a mildly sharp pine with a bite of grapefruit and a mild finish of an almost tropical fruit, possibly leaning towards stone fruit with a hint of passion. What is I really liked about the Segal Ranch Session IPA by Green Flash is just how much amazing flavor it packed from all of the pine, resin, grapefruit and tropical fruit flavor with a nice sharp bit and still a very smooth malty backbone that I would almost have to say had a hint of what I’d have to guess was a victory malt with its mild biscuit taste. Either way this is a great craft beer to try on tap or in a bottle.
Segal Ranch Session IPA by Green Flash
Pumpkick by New Belgium brewing
Pumpkick by New Belgium brewing is New Belgium’s take on Pumpkin Ale this season brewed with plenty of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and a hint of cranberries and lemongrass. Yes, we said lemongrass and it is an amazing pumpkin ale for the 2015 season called Pumpkick. Real lemongrass not the hop flavors of sorachi ace but real lemongrass with a blend of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cranberries. The hop was a bit of a surprise as they used nugget which actually went very well with all the other flavors and with a modest 6% ABV it all comes together smoothly. Pumpkick by New Belgium brewing is one of this seasons seasonal brews that is really worth trying. Even with the extra froth we saw the overall flavor was excellent and worth the purchase for this fall season. I will agree with most reviews that the overall aroma was almost non-existent but the flavor more than made up for it with a nice mouth feel and excellent pumpkin with mild hints of spice and although I really didn’t take notice to the cranberries there was a hint of tartness and the lemongrass seemed to smooth out the overall flavor. As for the pour you can see it was a bit heavy on the head but the color was a excellent light amber in color.
New Belgium Pumpkick
