DIPA tasting

The Black Sparrow is an interesting bar in the Lafayette area. I enjoy it on the weekdays, where it is a very chill place to grab some interesting beers (No Crap on tap is their motto) and have a cigar if the time is right. They always have a beer or two or five that I've never had, but they don't do any favors on the price. They do actually tend to be about $0.25 less than Chumley's normal price, for beers they share (blue moon's are more common...and not the beer), but their best deal for any tap is $1 off on Wednesday (? I think?). That is, until they had the opportunity to have 6 DIPAs.

This week they are having a special DIPA (or IIPA if you like) event. 6 of their 8 taps will be DIPAs for the entire week (or until Thursday when they run out). To top it off, they are offering flights of 5 oz glasses of each of the beers, so you can actually taste them all and not end up dead.

The lineup tonight was the new Hopkilla, 3-Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf, Hopslam, Founder's Double Trouble, Schmaltz Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A., and Brooklyn Blast!. I've already covered this batch of Arctic Panzer and Hopslam pretty well in here, so I'll focus on the rest.

Hopkilla, 8.5% ABV 104 IBU. This is the newest batch and it is definitely smoother than other batches. This could be the freshness coming through, and time will only tell. I've reviewed the previous two batches pretty extensively.

Founder's Double Trouble, 9.4%, 86IBU. This beer reminds me of Hopslam with less honey and more malts. Founders plays the hop bill close to the chest, but there is something very very citrusy in here. No dominating pine notes, almost all of the aroma and lighter flavors are citrus, with a healthy bitter wallop at the end to remind you that you're alive. This is a great DIPA, up there with the Hopslam and Space Cowboys of the category. I feel it missed just a touch on the balance, and will have to land 3rd on my list.

Schmaltz Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A, 10%, 96 IBU. So, this is a weird choice. Schmaltz is better known for their "He'Brew" series of beers. They are a kosher brewery, which is not the easiest thing in the world. There is a long ol' story about this beer on their website, it seems to be dedicated to Lenny Bruce. The name is a play on words, which always strikes dear to my heart. Not only is the R.I.P a not so subtle homage to Lenny, it is a hint as to what makes this beer truly unique. This. My friends. Is a Rye Double India Pale Ale. Schmaltz actually posts their entire recipe online (leaving out just the tiny but technical details). The malt is ~20% Rye malt and it was a 100 barrel batch (7300 lbs of grain!). Hops include Warrior, Cascade, Simcoe (definitely), Crystal, Chinook, and Centennial (also prevalent). This is perhaps the most interesting of DIPAs I've ever had, since the earthy, nutty tones of the Rye malt force their way through the abundant hops as a....sweetness. This is the maltiest, sweetest DIPA I've ever had...and it was fantastic.

Now. Brooklyn Blast!. The "!" is part of the name...I really wish I could leave it off. I did not like this beer. And now that I'm reading the description I understand why...these people make no sense. "Here in Brooklyn, we are halfway between the hop country of Yakima Valley, Washington and the hop country of Kent England." Armed with this 'knowledge' of geography, they drew the conclusion that it would be a good idea to make a Double AMERICAN IPA using half American and half English hops. English hops tend to be lower AA, and much heavier on the 'earthy' character compared to the citrus notes of the big American hops. This is not a good combination. And it showed through in the beer. At first it just seemed green and a little piney. Then when you were dying for the DIPA bitterness to knock back the initial badness it....well...it didn't show up. Nothing. Nada. Zip. It just kind of ended. It also seemed that this keg may have been slightly skunked, or at least I hope that flavor wasn't intentional.

So there we go. More DIPAs in a single sitting than any mortal deserves to enjoy.

-James