Great Divide Titan IPA

In the liquor store tonight I was looking for a new local beer to try, when I stumbled on this 6 pack of Great Divide Brewing CO's Titan IPA. Great Divide Brewing CO [GDBC] is located just a few blocks down from Coors Field in the LoDo district of Denver, CO. GDBC is a fairly young brewery being established in 1994, but they have already established an impressive trophy case. Great Divide beers have earned twelve Great American Beer Festival medals and 4 World Beer Cup awards. Not bad for a young, small brewery out of Denver, CO. They are a brewery which describe themselves as, "brewing some of the globe's most balanced yet assertive and flavorful beers."

Titan IPA

Rush River Double Bubble

Shout out to McChain and his roommate Andy for hooking my up with a 6-pack of Rush River Double Bubble. I hope you guys are enjoying the sampler I brought over last week!

Rush River Brew Company Double Bubble

Cheers,


Philip

Mendocino Imperial IPA Review

Mendocino Imperial IPA

In a recent drinking session with Flop and Adam, we tried out this California-born IPA. The Mendocino Brewery was founded in 1983. I found this beer on the specialty shelf at MGM in Mankato and bought it just to try something new. Mendocino Brewery describes this beer as such - Imperial IPA - This full bodied Imperial IPA is brewed with massive amounts of premium varieties of hops such as Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe and Crystal and paired with a rich blend of luscious Munich, caramel and 2-row pale malts. The result is a perfect balance of luxuriant malt and heady, exhilarating hop flavor. After primary fermentation is finished, we dry hop our Imperial IPA with copious quantities of the above mentioned hops. It is then cold conditioned for a few weeks. The result is an outstanding and unforgettable hop aroma. Starting with an original gravity of 20 Plato and finishing at 8.0% alcohol by volume, this Imperial India Pale is a hop tour de force!

Nice carbonation and head

Pliny the Elder Review

Pliny the Elder Bottle

In a recent beer trade conducted over HomeBrewTalk.com with rlhvegas of No Limit Brewing out of Las Vegas, Nevada, I acquired myself a bottle of Russian River Brewing Company's Pliny the Elder!!!  This American Double IPA is considered to be the best of the best!  Take it for what it's worth, Pliny the Elder has a score of 100 out of 100 on BeerAdvocate.com with over 2,570 reviews.  I have wanted to try this beer ever since I first heard about it.  Three and half years later I finally have obtained myself a bottle of the highly sought after Pliny the Elder.  Again, thank you rlhvegas for contacting me.  First brewed in 1999 by Russian River Brewing Co. of Santa Rosa, California, Pliny the Elder is brewed in small batches and is supposed to be drank fresh.  Highly hoppy beers do not store well.  The hop aroma and flavor diminish over time, thus the reason for the small batches.  With supply low and demand high, an urban legend originated around this beer.  It was not until 2004 until Russian River starting brewing Pliny the Elder year round, and in 2012 I finally get to taste the legend! 

Hopslam Ale Review

During a recent brew session, I was able to sample a bottle of the coveted Hopslam Ale from Bell's Brewery, Inc. located in Galesburg, Michigan. The reason Hopslam is such a sought-after beer is in part due to the fact that it's a winter seasonal only released once each year around the months of January or February and also because stores have a limited supply for customers. It can be found on draft or in bottles at select locations in select Midwest and Eastern states. Hopslam is classified as an Imperial IPA because of its relatively high ABV (10%) as well as its hoppy aromas and flavors.

Bell's Hopslam Ale