QIPA

Toasty weekends, that’s what we can look forward to from now on. This is a German Film Fest (official name now, remember) weekend, but I didn’t make the time to seek out some German beers to add to the list. I don’t even have a German style for tonight, although plenty of German craft breweries make their own IPAs of various substyles. It is practically a requirement of craft beering. It is a bit of an experiment, since you always have to go farther than your fellow travelers to make your mark, and Soma has taken the farther path. Midnight Club is not the first QIPA to come on the market, but there aren’t that many of them out there. Probably with the price of ingredients now everybody has to cut back, so it’s a good idea to take advantage when we can. Before midnight.

Oddly light for an extra IPA, fuzzy peachy straw colored. A good fluffy head, though, and with staying power. There’s some new IPA citrus in the aroma and also a little bit of dark caraway base. It’s a strong bitter at the first sip, with a rough feel and bustling swallow. There’s an almost candy sweet chaser that raises its head for just a second. It feels both oddly light and predictably weighted. It doesn’t show off its alcohol content, although it has a wild and woolly body, but it does sneak up on you over time. It’s one of the more fitting sipping and conversation IPAs, too strong to just suck down, but without an overwhelming hit of booze, which you might expect from such a powerhouse of a beer. It doesn’t hold a candle to the Belgian (style) quintuple, or even some quads, in that regard, but it’s certainly pleasurable and inviting to drink.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €8.25