The Kick Box - On Hip!

Not really. Pumking is 8.6%.

 

High as fuck.

 

Holy fuck this is good! I've had this in my refrigerator for the last two weeks, and decided to finally crack it open after letting it sit on the counter for about 45 minutes. This went down entirely too fast for being an 8% ABV imperial ale (imperial red ale to be exact). This has such a rich, dank hop character to it with some very piney hops and bready malts. The Cleveland, Ohio based Great Lakes is definitely one of the top Midwest breweries in the United States at this time, and this is definitely one of the best beers I've had from them to date.

 

Moving on to Southern Tier 2XIBA, an imperial/double black ale clocking in at 8% ABV. This is another beer that has been sitting at the back of my fridge for a few weeks. I have been looking forward to trying this as Southern Tier is one of my favorite American breweries, and my favorite New York State brewery next to Ommegang. For those who have never had an American black or imperial black ale, they have a hop profile similar to IPA's, except they incorporate dark malts which contributes a smoky, malty taste and aroma. While I am finding this to be a nice brew, I would probably not rank it among my favorite for the style, as it is somewhat unbalanced and the body is rather lacking. Overall, though, I am enjoying it.

 

Drinking bonnie and Clyde from tall tales brewing company.
Its a dipa and 9.2% abv.

I started brewing my own beer a couple years ago. I was all hung ho reading everything I can. The one thing I skipped or rather the one thing I didn't brew long enough to learn was the different tastes of different hops. And drinking this it reminds me of those first days deciding what hops to purchase because it was a total crap shoot. This one is made with galaxy hops. I guess the reason I'm thinking about my short lived hobby is because tasting this beer I would never buy galaxy hops for my beer after trying this. The hoppiness is sharp, floral, and bitter.
This beer is also malty it has a sweet taste to it. The sweet side is like a mix of honey, caramelized sugar, and malt extract.
I like bitter beers and I like sweet beers but I have yet to taste one that mixes the two that I liked more than just a little bit......until now.
Everything about this beer makes me think I shouldn't like it. But it is good. Like really good. Its like mixing two different beers together. I never tasted two different flavors together and can taste each different flavor specificly but they all work as perfectly together as they can.
I would never recommend this onre because of the vast complexity but it works for me.

 

Hey! I almost bought this beer as part of a mixed 6er the other night (when I ended up with the Devious brew).
Good to hear that review... maybe I'll get around to picking it up the next time I go out for beer.
(I still have 2 of the Devious Pumpkins left)

 

picked up a lagunitas maximus ipa and a ballast point sculpin ipa at the store earlier today. will have them both this evening and report back later on tonight

 

Just finished the sculpin ipa. kinda had a citrusy mango flavor. pretty decent.

 

Sculpin is an awesome IPA.

 

Just had nyf root beer. It tastes like flat rootbeer. I am tempted to put a shot of vodka in a good rootbeer and seeing the difference.

 

Moving onto the maximus IPA now will report back with results in a bit

 

I really like Ninkasi Total Domination IPA.

But the hoppiest beer I've ever had was this: Hop Stoopid

This is a type of beer that you hand over to your one of your buds and say "Dude, try to drink this with a straight face."

 

I can't do the super-hoppy beers. Does one come to enjoy that bitter taste with enough practice?

 

I have found that beers that were super hoppy when I started drinking craft beers...when I drink them now I can barely taste the hoppiness. That being said there are hoppy as fuck beers out there that weren't around when I started drinking craft beers.

 

Hoppy beers become an acquired taste after you drink some. Practice makes perfect I guess. I used to hate IPAs when I first started drinking. But then I grew to appreciate them the more I drank them with people who talked me into giving IPAs a second chance.

 

Hoppy beers are overrated and very hyped. A lot of them tend to be unbalanced, but some of them can be very nice depending on the types of hops that are used. I prefer more of a citrus hop profile as opposed to a piney one.

 

Yeah, not a good alcoholic root beer.
I think it was the Coney Island that was a good version of it.

But the NYF is just like a sour lollipop or some shit.

blech

 

I'm not big on hoppy beers either.
It's not that hops automatically equals bad, but if I see a brew extolling the virtues of how hoppy it is... I tend to shy away from it.

I really like stout beers, personally.

 

For some reason quotes suddenly work for me again.
Coney island gets more respect from the beer snobs but i was equally disapointed with both.
I think there is one called mission root beer that i have yet to try. That is on my list when i find out where its sold.
Nyf is definately sweeter. I saved a bottle of each to try in a rootbeer float.