Well, Well…guess who is staring to love IPA’s?
THIS GIRL!
I have been pretty adamant my whole beer drinking life that IPA’s suck and stouts are king but lately I have tasted some amazing beauties that have totally changed my mind altogether….starting with ‘Hopslam’. When I cracked that bottle open and took a drink, I thought I had died and gone to hop honey heaven. It was soooo delicious and beautifully balanced, I immediately drank two more and then RAN to the nearest store (1 hour away) to find the last two 6 packs in the state. Yes…I did! There is no shame in my game. Unfortunately those 12 bottles were gone in about 2 weeks. The other people living in my household loved it as well.
The second one I tried, which I will probably never ever be able to get my hand on ever, ever again was ‘Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA’. GOOD GOOGLY MOOGLY! This was so delish! We drank it slow since we only had one precious bottle AND the ABV varies from 15-20%. YOWZERS!
The third one, my husband has been drinking forever and I just never asked for a sip because I assumed it was “nasty” (lol) is ‘Kuhnhenn’s Double Rice IPA/DRIPA’. If you have never heard of or patronized Kuhnhenn’s Brewery in Warren, MI, I strongly advise you to go. If you are out of town, make the road trip. It’s that good and totally worth it. There is not one beer or mead or wine that they make that is not simply amazing. And I’m not alone in that thought. They have won Gold and Silver Medals for the majority of their products and they should. They stick their foot in those beers I tell ya! Crazytown Good!
The last one…I had last night…which held this blog post up a few days was ‘Lagunitas Sucks IPA’. I remember going to a few invite-only Lagunitas parties during the Denver Beer Fest two years ago and drinking ‘Lagunitas IPA’ and ‘Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin’ and only being impressed because it was free and there was TONS of it everywhere. So I was MUCHO surprised when I cracked the ‘Lagunitas Sucks’ open and found it to be delectable!
Four Winners!!
Now that I have figured out the types of IPA’s I love, Im beginning to think I didn’t hate IPA’s all along… I just hadn’t found ones that were my speed. Because I love dark beers, I stole a saying from my Aunt Barbara (who was referring to coffee but I changed it to beer) and say “I like my beer, like I like my men; strong, dark and smooth”. But NOW I can say, “I like my beer like I like my men; strong, tan, hoppy, boozey and kinda sweet”….um…Somehow that doesn’t work as well but let’s go with it anyway.