Ranger IPA

So...here's the story. I was buying some cheap stuff the other day, and saw the new Ranger IPA from New Belgium. Well, today I got paid, so I could afford it (and a 6-pack of Oberon...get to that later).

On to the beer. Cost is 9.29/ 6 pk, which is 0.30 more than Oberon.

I have a hard time with New Belgium. I want to hate them, I really do. Reading about the company, it sounds like a bunch of CA hippies transplanted into a Colorado brewery. But, they are beer freaks. They used to make a quadruple belgian ale. They still make a good belgiun witbier, and double. Haven't found their trippel, but I'm sure it's spectacular. My biggest complaint had been that the only IPA they made was the triple IPA that they made as a colla"beer"ation, available only in CO...bitches.

Ranger changed that. It is a 3lb/batch, 3 variety hoptastic brew. Or so they said.

The beer pours beautifully. Light amber color, awesome head. This beer will test your pouring prowess. 6.50% ABV, so this brew packs a potential punch if not pulled off right. Smells a lot like Two Hearted, which is my all time favorite single IPA, so I was a bit worried. It is, however, significantly more subdued. Instead of smelling like you're basking in the sunlight filtering through the branches of pines surrounding you, it's more like lying in a field watching the clouds overhead as the summer breeze wafts over you from a pine forest. Descriptive enough for ya?

k, 'nough about smell. I don't just smell beer, i drink it. And I'd drink this beer all damn day. The mouthfeel is surprisingly light. It feels like a budweiser. The first taste is slightly lest subtle. There is a tiny hint of something that may have been at one point construed as malt. But the first of the three hops varieties quickly kick that to the curb, and begin a fantastic series of frontal assaults upon your tongue. As that finishes, you are left with the unfortunate telltale of almost all IPAs, a strangely sticky aftertaste. It's almost as if most of these IPAs start leaching the actual resin from the hops, and after you swallow its left clinging to your mouth. This is the only failing of this beer.

I love IPAs. But this last lingering taste is what most end up living and dying by. Two Hearted is spectacular for its extremely clean finish, and rates as a 10 in my IPA score guide. Dogfish head 60 min has a pure sap finish, and gets an 8. 90 min is around an 8.5 since it has a decent finish, but no balance. As for New Belgium's Ranger IPA, it has a slight lack in balance, and a slight sappy aftertaste. Price is average for IPAs, as is ABV. However, somehow it is more drinkable than 90 min, so it must get a 9.

Two Hearted remains safe...for now.