Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA

So it's been a few weeks. I blame my brother, John Six Pack, for having a bachelor party which sadly put me off even the thought of beer for a substantial time afterward. Although at said party I tried the new Sam Adams seasonal and was whelmed. Not overwhelmed, nor underwhelmed, but moderately whelmed. Anyway...

This entry's product is the Racer 5 IPA by Bear Republic Brewery in California. As the label states, it's an IPA, and it certainly wouldn't be described as anything else. It's trying really hard to be one of those hop-head legends like Dogfish Head or Victory produce, but it falls a little short. It's aggressive on the Chinook hops and includes a few other varieties (all beginning with the letter "C" oddly enough).

The aroma is flowery and hoppy, with nary a trace of malt to it, providing no counterbalance to the hops. The color is right for an IPA but I prefer a bit of something besides hop juice, which is what this brew tasted like to me. I enjoy an aggressively hopped brew, and have brewed a few in my past, but honestly, this had little else to offer. This beer has won many awards and was highly recommended to me by the gal working in Whole Foods, but still, I'm unimpressed. If you really like flowery hops and you don't really like the rest of beer, give it a try.

I didn't intend to come off sounding so negative about this beer, because I did drink them all and enjoyed them, though I wouldn't buy it again, I wouldn't turn one down if it were offered to me. The beer, and all of Bear Republic's offerings, are non-vegan, utilizing gelatin in the product.

The movie that best represents this beer is, to me, The Boondock Saints. The film is, I guess, technically a gangster movie, like this is technically an IPA. It hits all the notes it's supposed to, but if you're looking for something representative of the style, and something that makes you want to keep coming back, you'll be disappointed. With that said, there's going to be a certain person who's looking for only one defining characteristic of the style (in the beer, hops; in the film, ridiculous amounts of people being shot), and that person will probably keep coming back satisfied. My name is Joe.

Next up, the Massachusetts entry, Mayflower Brewing Company's Golden Ale.

Gritty McDuff's Vacationland Summer Ale

This week's entry hails from Maine, also known as Vacationland. At least, to some. It's a product of Gritty McDuff's, a microbrewery/brewpub with several locations in Maine. I've been to their Freeport location, and was asked by a young man in the parking lot if I was having a "Gritty good time." This young man then invited me to a party with a bunch of college kids I'd never met. It could be one of my great regrets in life that I did not go, but I think I'll manage to be okay.

Anyway, on to the beer. It's a summer ale, so the packie I bought it at must have had it lying around for quite a while, but even so it tasted good. The color is the Maine summer sun, golden and bright. Its head is light and quick to disperse, which is unexpected because of the additional conditioning the brewers give the product, but it's not a type that demands a thick foamy head and one would not go well with the beer. It's a clean, easy-drinking ale, which might even pass for a lager.

The malt flavors are subtly complex, and the touch of wheat malt included in the brew makes a difference adding that complexity. Hop character is not memorable, to my palate, but I enjoy a heavily-hopped brew. It's not absent, but it's nothing special for the hopheads out there. In keeping with the style of Summer Ale, (which if it isn't an official BJCP style, I think it should be) this beer is mild and easy to drink, but with some richness of character. I could certainly envision enjoying a six-pack on a hot midsummer day with a fly rod in my general vicinity so I could excuse the lazy afternoon as fishing.

My research indicates that Gritty's uses isinglass as a finings agent in all their brews, so this one is not for the vegans out there.

This beer, were it a movie, would be Spaceballs. Nobody's going to tell you it's their favorite and no professional critic would readily admit to liking it, but every time it's on, you'll watch it and laugh. Any time this beer were around, I'd have one, and I'd enjoy it. My name is Joe.

Dogfish Head Midas Touch

I've been anticipating this one for a long time. Not quite the 2700 years since the recipe was first concocted, according the the brewers, but a long time. This beer is reverse-engineered from a drinking vessel discovered in the tomb of King Midas, hence the name that Dogfish Head have given it. Whether the legendary king actually turned things to gold or not with his touch, he did well with selecting his brewers.

This is not your traditional beer, and in fact barely tastes like beer at all. I'm most reminded of mead, or a slightly sweet white wine, and the alcohol content, at 9%, tends toward wine country, too. It's quite an image to conjure, the ancient party of Iron Age warriors drinking vast bowls of this heady concoction until they believed that their king could turn things to gold with his touch. And I can definitely see them drinking it in mass quantity.

The brewer recommends drinking it from a white wine glass, which I may have to do with my next four-pack, but didn't try this time around. It does well from a glass, but drinks well from a bottle as well, although I recommend decanting, not because there's a head, which there isn't, but because it opens up the flavors and aromas, allowing you to get the varied experience that is this beer.

Veganosity: Most of Dogfish Head's brews are vegan, but Midas Touch, containing honey, is not. Starting this week, I'm going to alter the scoring system from the slightly boring letter grades I've been using up to now. Instead, I'll grade each by comparing it to a movie. Midas Touch inaugurates this system receiving the grade of Jaws. It's classic, it's tremendous, it's repeatable, and like the film, it broke the rules when it was introduced. Also, I can think of few things that would be more enjoyable sitting on a beach on a cool summer night after a hot summer day.

Speaking of summer, next week's brew will be Gritty McDuff's Vacationland Summer Ale. This is going to get me halfway through a tour of New England via microbrews, and I may have to start tracking the states my brews have come from in an effort to hit all 50 by year's end. For now, my name is Joe.