DIPA

New place and new surroundings…not especially impressive for me. Who knows, though, I didn’t like my old neighborhood when I first moved there and when I got kicked out I was sad about it. Maybe I’ll come to enjoy Las Tablas. In any case, I have a metro station to take me to my beer stores, and this time it took me to Be Hoppy. I hadn’t read the story of the French artist when I bought the beer, so it’s just by coincidence that I have the preening sheep and the embarrassed Statue of Liberty. Garage might have some better connections to France than I do. You might expect a dark beer, given the circumstances, but this is an IPA, a DIPA in fact. It’s Pacific Trifecta, named for its three hops: Centennial, Idaho 7 and Simcoe. Classic.

A little happy to leave the can, maybe thanks to the weak fridge. Unsurprisingly hard to pour smoothly, I something like one of those Czech pours with all the foam at first, and it’s pretty resistant head too. It looks appetizing, with a distinctly golden color and clean white head on top. The aroma is IPA all the way. I get a little bit of rubber as an undertone, though. The flavor starts with an arrow toward bitter, but quickly swivels to fruity with a mild sweetness and a velvety feel. It would be more refreshing at a lower temperature, but it’s still bright and delicious, with essence of hops wrapped around it. I can complain about a lot of things, but I can’t really complain about this beer.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €6.45

Things are cooling down outside but about to heat up in work, so it feels like a good time to grab one more strong drink. Of course, stouts are my go-to at any time for any reason, but I have plans for the future and variety is always good. So, why not an IPA? Why not indeed, and let’s make it double! Garage, makers of oh so many fantastic brews, has a hearty product on the shelves – Hexagons Honey DIPA.

Slightly spicy aroma, something like caraway, and a color that speaks to its name. Head appears fragile with larger bubbles, but does keep a pretty good cap on for a while. The scent in the glass takes on more sweetness, mostly typical IPA citrus, but there’s some honey lurking at the base. The first impression of the flavor is that it’s more like the first NEIPAs I had, smooth, sweet, like a beermosa. It has some extra sharpness in the throat, so it’s not completely a pushover, but for the most part it’s very drinkable light. I get a bit of coating on the tongue, although the beer itself doesn’t feel sticky at all.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €6.75