Home Brew Update: It has been two weeks since I put the batch of Whispering Wheat Weizenbier in the keg. Today, I put the latest home brew in bottles. Same drill as before, another two weeks in the bottles, and then we will get to taste.
On Saturday, I continued my journey down the hoppy trail with two ales heavy on the hops. As I have discussed in previous posts (including the most recent), I have been trying more pales ales, IPAs and even double (or imperial) IPAs despite my general preference for beers with lower contents of hops. I find that some of these brews are strong and hoppy seemingly just for the sake higher ABV and IBU numbers. Those are the ones that I least prefer. Other beers in these categories are smoother and easier to drink. Here we have one of each.
The first brew that I consumed was Islander IPA from Coronado. This will be the second brew on the Beer List from the California brewery after their Mermaid's Red Ale. The website for Islander IPA brags about its "intense hop bitterness" which I found to be right on the money. There were some other flavors, but for me at least, the hops really overpowered any other taste.
To the rescue comes Capt'n Krunkles from Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Georgia. According to the brewery's webpage, Capt'n Krunkles is the tenth in a line of Side Projects and the first for the year 2010. The brew is called a black IPA which is an oxymoron. How can a beer be both black and pale? Other descriptions for this particular style of beer include Cascadian Dark Ale and American-Style India Black Ale which now seems to be the official name for the style per the Brewers Association. True to the style (whatever it is called), Capt'n Krunkles is a dark pour. The smell is very malty. I found the taste to be a great balance of roasted malts and heavy hops. I enjoyed this beer much more than the Islander IPA.
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