Everything you see here is just the opinion of some guy who likes his IPA the way he likes it.

I’m drinking a black IPA as I type this. Sadly that’s only making me frustrated. You see, IPAs are beautiful drinks when done right. They should have a hefty hop presence, that much we know, but after that it seems we lose focus. Strange as it may sound, even the word “hoppy” is one of contention. Bitterness and Hoppiness are not the same thing – not at all. Still, it seems many brewers & beer geeks measure the initial quality of an IPA by the IBU count it holds. By the way, the IBU counts on most  many bottles of beer are bogus, based on theoretical formulas that really get skewed with modern late-hopping techniques. Make no mistake: IPAs should be bitter, but they must also carry with them some serious hop flavors.

From here we can talk about color. I’ve made mention before my longing to reclaim the “P” in IPA, that standing for “pale” of course. In brewing the word “pale” is not as easy to define as you’d expect. I suspect this is because of some politicking and recent history by popular and powerful breweries. Here’s my argument: if it’s lighter than ‘amber’ it’s pale. Amber is a color we can all relate to, right? Well, pale is lighter. Can I say that again, another way? Aside from the pale nature of IPAs there are a few other items I look at when evaluating a good beer.

Body is a big thing in IPAs that, like everything, is often overlooked. Many IPAs are thick and heavy, others are wimpy and thin. Somewhere right in the middle is where this beer should be. You see, a light bodied IPA is what I’d like to refer to as a Pale Ale. Big, heavy versions? Either Amber Ales or Double IPAs depending on their hop & sweetness levels. Make no mistake, IPAs are not “Session Beers”. Just because you (or I) can down a few without effort, they have an elevated ABV that clearly puts them outside of what a sessionable beer is. On the flip-side, these are not sippers, either. I’ve seen IPAs with ABVs of 8% or more, which is absurd to say the least! Ideally I see IPAs landing between 6 and 7.5% ABV and I’m willing to budge a bit based on the dryness & body of the beer. Oh, a major no-no for me in IPAs is a hot alcohol presence in the aftertaste. If my mouth isn’t enveloped with hops after it goes down, something’s amiss.

While I’m at it, let’s talk about the myth of a ’smooth’ IPA. If you’re drinking an IPA that doesn’t rough your palate up a bit, I’m sorry, but that ain’t an IPA. The hop presence in an IPA should be brash and bold. They don’t ‘need’ to be sticky or dank, but you should definitely know you just drank a hoppy-ass beer. IPAs are not for the faint of heart. If this were a cheese, I’d liken it to a sharp cheddar (whereas mild cheddars are like pale ales). Now, don’t misread this part. I’ve encountered a lot of people who claimed to not like beer, but discovered they loved an abrasive IPA. While not for the faint of heart, it can fit for the uninitiated.

As an aside, can I talk about carabonation? You see, carbonation itself is acidic and often has a mild taste of lemon (just taste carbonated water and find out for yourself). While this is fine for 99% of beer styles & mixed drinks, it just doesn’t blend well with a beer that is highly hopped with big flavors of orange, grapefruit, lemon or other acidic notes commonly found in the American IPA. This is especially true for draft versions of IPAs. You see, most draft beer is carbonated to a spec that seems to have been set by the big boys like Budweiser – a beer with a meager 8 or so IBUs. If you don’t enjoy IPA drinking at the bar, can I offer a simple solution taught to be me Mark Zahn, “The Beer Geek*” from Pacific Brew News and my earliest mentor in beer consumption? Repour!

Repouring is simple, but does take some getting used to. When at the bar order your IPA and kindly ask for an empty pint glass. You may get a funny look, but it’s worth it. When your beer comes, take a deep swig from the glass to lower the liquid level approximately 1/2 an inch. Next, aggressively pour the IPA straight into the empty pint glass, stopping as the foam hits the 3/4 mark. Allow the foam to rise and then watch as it begins to dry out and pull away from the glass. This could take a minute or two, you really must have patience here. When the top of the head has pulled away from the glass you can hit it more with the IPA, causing the head of beer to rise straight up over the glass (when you get the hang of this, it can be like a fun bar trick… it’s a sexy thing to see). Repeat if needed until you have one empty glass and one incredibly alluring pint of beer. Let settle, then enjoy. What you’ll discover is an IPA experience the way it’s meant to be, with a whole lot less carbonation and a whole lot more noticeable hop flavor. Trust me. If you need proof, try the two versions side by side (the repoured and no-repoured glasses). If you don’t think the IPA repoured is a better beer, well… I suppose that’s alright.

Did I miss anything? Pale appearance. Loads of hops in the flavor to support a high IBU count. Oh, definitely need dry-hopping in IPAs. I expect a very strong hop aroma that impresses the senses – but be careful here too! Many brewers use a lot of hops in the fermentor, but some hops should not be used in large quantities at this point to avoid oniony, pissy aromas inherent in some hop varieties. Medium body, full can be OK, too. ABV should be average, but shouldn’t have a place in the aroma or flavor. Carbonation should be lower than most styles. It should be an abusive pleasure to drink.

Trust me on this, I’ve had a hell of a lot of IPA in my life from all over the country. I know I have very strong opinions on what makes a good IPA, even if the opinions don’t agree with the nerdy style guidelines many of you are comfortable with.

Finally, for the love of beer, stop making black IPAs. I know, I know! When I had a chance to make a beer at Beer Camp last year, I made an “India Dark Elusive Ale” because I like the idea, but that doesn’t make it right. I get that. Sorry.

1st Honorable Mention BOS – Triple Rock IPAX

2nd Honorable Mention BOS – Lightning Brewery Elemental Pilsner

3rd Honorable Mention BOS – Fox Barrel Mulled Cider (Seriously, in a beer competition?)

4th Honorable Mention BOS – Sudwerk Dunkelweizen

Congrats also go to Brian Ford and local brewery, Auburn Alehouse, for their haul of medals this year.

Full results are at http://bigfun.org/pdfs/competitions/ccb/CCB_Results.pdf .

Last weekend, my wife and I decided to take advantage of the great weather and do some walking on the trails in Folsom. We rewarded ourselves with lunch and a good beer or two at Samuel Horne’s. Afterward, since Becky really prefers wine, we decided to stop in The Cellar Wine and Cheese Bar and let’s just say, we were very pleasantly surprised.

I was immediately drawn to the 5 draught beer taps at the end of the bar-St. Bernardus Wit, Kronenbourg, Mendocino Eye of the Hawk, Anderson Valley Hop Ottin’ IPA, and Chimay Triple. By now, I was starting to get excited about this place and decided to look at what was in bottles. What I found was 45 different beers, mostly Belgian influenced and mostly excellent choices. There was a wide range of beers covering regional micros like Mendocino, Port Brewing, Deschutes and Lost Abbey and harder to find beers like Tripel Karmeliet, St. Louis Kriek and Lucifer.

I had the Tripel Karmeliet. Becky had a very nice $7 Chardonnay (yes there are some Wine bars that serve reasonably priced wines in addition to more expensive selections), and we shared the Baked Brie and Raspberry. All were outstanding. Their wine list is pretty extensive and their food menu looked very good as well (cheeses, meats and some small plates).

We also had the opportunity to talk to Jordan, who was very knowledgeable about both beer and wine, and Jeff, The Cellar’s owner. When I asked Jeff about their neighbors, Samuel Horne’s, he said they actually had a pretty good relationship with and had decided to focus their beers more on Belgians. He was doing this to allow Samuel Horne’s to focus on domestic microbrews. What do you know? Two neighboring beer purveyors working together to offer great beers to Folsom’s thirsty visitors.

I heartily recommend The Cellar as a place to relax, enjoy some good food, and good beer and wine the next time you are in Folsom. Now if only there was a quicker way to get there from Roseville?

Commercial Competition Awards

stout

1. Deschutes Obsidian Stout, Bend OR

2. Lost Coast Eight Ball, Eureka CA

3. Auburn Alehouse Kill Kenny, Auburn CA

wheat

1. Grand Teton Tail Waggin’ Double White, Victor ID

2. Sam Adams Dunkelweiss, Boston MA

3. Pyramid Haywire, Berkeley CA

 fruit beer

1. Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat, Eureka CA

2. Uncommon Brewers Rubidus Red Ale, Santa Cruz CA

3. Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat, Portland ME

 strong ale

1. Sam Adams Old Ben, Boston MA

2. Sam Adams Imperial Stout, Boston MA

3. Alaskan Barley Wine Ale, Juneau AK

 mixed category

1. Sam Adams Boston Ale, Boston MA

2. Alaskan Amber, Juneau AK

3. Alaskan Summer Ale (Kölsch), Juneau AK

 Belgian ales

1. Sam Adams Stony Brook Red (Flanders Red), Boston MA

2. Sam Adams New World Trippel, Boston MA

3. Uncommon Brewers Siamese Twin (Dubbel), Santa Cruz CA

 cider

1. Wyders Pear Cider, Middlebury VT

2. Crispin Cider The Saint (Apple), Minneapolis MN

3. Fox Barrel Mulled Cider, Colfax CA

 Other category

1. Sam Adams Old Fezziwig (Holiday Spiced Ale), Boston MA

2. River City Consternation (Sour Black Strong Ale), Sacramento CA

3. Auburn Alehouse Fool’s Gold (Strong Pale), Auburn CA

 Imports

1. Radeberger Pilsner, Germany

2. Krusovice Black Lager (Schwarzbier), Czech Republic

3. Lhasa Dortmunder, Tibet

Part I (additional results to be posted in Part 2)

light lager

1. Sudwerk Pilsner, Davis CA

2. Sudwerk Maibock, Davis CA

3. Sudwerk Helles, Davis CA 

dark lager

1. Sudwerk Marzen, Davis CA

2. Sam Adams Black Lager, Boston MA

3. Buck Bean Black Noddy, Reno NV

 amber ale

1. Mad River Jamaica Red, Blue Lake CA

2. Sam Adams Irish Red, Boston MA

3. Auburn Alehouse Scarlet Harlot, Auburn CA

 light ale

1. Lockdown Emma Blonde, Folsom CA

2. River City Cap City Pale, Sacramento CA

3. Lost Coast Great White, Eureka CA

 american pale ale

1. Deschutes Mirror Pond, Bend OR

2. Firestone Walker Pale 31, Paso Robles CA

3. Grand Teton Sweetgrass, Victor ID

 english pale ale

1. Deschutes Bachelor, Bend OR

2. Firestone Walker Double Barrel, Paso Robles CA

3. Sam Adams English Pale, Boston MA

 india pale ale

1. Firestone Walker Union Jack, Paso Robles CA

2. Deschutes Inversion, Bend OR

3. Auburn Alehouse Gold Digger, Auburn CA

 brown ale

1. Auburn Alehouse Old Town Brown, Auburn CA

2. Humboldt Hemp, Paso Robles CA

3. Sam Adams English Brown, Boston MA

 porter

1. Alaskan Baltic Porter, Juneau AK

2. Sam Adams Holiday Porter, Boston MA

3. Alaskan Smoked Porter, Juneau AK

Judging for 2010 West Coast Brewfest is now over. Results will be forth coming soon I’m sure but I wanted to share a few thoughts about this year’s events and judging in general.

 It was held last Sunday (May 2) at Pangaea Café in Sacramento, a new venue for our local judging events. While a relatively small place, it actually worked out well with panels of 3 judges for each style and additional seating on their outside patio. I’ve never been here before as I just don’t get down to Sacramento from Roseville all that often, but I need to make a separate excursion to the café at some point soon. They have an outstanding array of 14 taps (mostly Belgian) that I could easily spend a few days working my way through. They also have some outstanding bottle selections, including about 25 more Belgians, to try.

On to the judging. About a week or two ago, I judged one day of the NHC home brewing competition in Lodi. The differences between judging homebrew and commercial contests are dramatic. For those of you who haven’t judged a homebrew contest, it requires considerably more work  than commercial events as score sheets are very detailed and need to be completed with both what went well with each beer, what didn’t go well, and how to fix it if necessary. There’s lots of writing and to be honest, it’s not really that much fun (at least for me). That said, it is important work as home brewers are searching for feedback how to improve and without this process, there are limited options.

At commercial events, the entries are all brewed by professional brewers. As a result, they are not looking for feedback and the beers are all generally well made and without significant defects (with a few exceptions). Judging is typically done by assigning a general point total, discussing each beer, and agreeing on its’ merits vs. the style guidelines. It’s a relaxed discussion that often includes novice judges, who may not have taken the judge certification program, and can be a great way to get some judging experience.

The WCBF judging was truly enjoyable. I was on a panel with friend and Pacific Brews News contributor Todd Leber, and Big Mike Moore, an experienced judge and Belgian beer expert/fanatic. We judged six stouts (2 dry, 2 oatmeal and 2 foreign extra). Not all were great but we did enjoy a few of them with one of the foreign extra stouts winning out, followed closely by an oatmeal stout. Judging was just three good beer fans tasting and talking about a pleasant style of beer (although we agreed that the addition of an Imperial stout or two would have been nice). Since we finished early, we took on a second panel (Imports). This was an eclectic collection of two pilsners, a Dortmunder export, and a dark lager. If memory serves me correctly, the Dortmunder won.

Judging was followed by a tasty lunch of sandwiches and potato salad while we enjoyed finishing the half empties. There were some very unique beers available. Sam Adams has a new “advanced” series that includes a barley wine and a Belgian tripel. Both were very good. I also tried a mushroom beer. Yes, I said a mushroom beer. I’d have to say this beer left me asking why as in why brew a mushroom beer, why take drugs when thinking up beer ideas, etc?

The final part of the day was many judges favorite. Another advantage of the commercial events is that the breweries typically supply more beer than is needed for judging. As a result, the volunteer judges and stewards get to take home the extras. Sometimes, the available beer gets picked over pretty well before it’s made available for the judges. At Sunday’s event this was not the case however as I think everyone had ample opportunity to get some good beer to take home.

I’m sure the results of the judging will be available soon but this was a very enjoyable event. Homebrew judging, with all its work, is definitely needed but for pure enjoyment, commercial events, especially when as well organized as this year’s WCBF event, take the cake.

PBN/SOBER Group Epic IPA Festival

Start with Mac n Cheese, the cheesier the better I say!

But, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Sean Paxton it’s the importance of cooking with beer! For this I recommend just shopping the bargain bins of your local supermarket, you never know what you’ll find! For instance, I found this Lincoln Lager for dirt cheap! The brewery’s been out of business for nearly a year now, but you can’t tell when you get this beer cold enough.

I’ve also learned that hops, of all things, are the secret ingredient to impressing anyone and everyone that likes beer. So, I bought a box of aged hops for this meal at a rippin’ deal. I’m telling you, deals are everywhere! This DOES take some prep time, don’t be fooled.

What you want to do is pour the dry noodles in a vessel and just add hops on the top so the noodles absorb the flavor of the hops – I’d say after a few minutes the noodles will be sufficiently hopped. While the noodles are hopping, bring that bargain bin beer up to a boil and then add the noodles to the pot and cook as normal, adding cheese and pairing with another bargain beer. You’re friends will be blown away, speechless perhaps.

Soups are always a good second course, but who has the TIME to make one from scratch when there’s so many great options out there? For this I suggest Cup o Soup, doesn’t matter what the flavor. You can’t go wrong.

This is a relatively simple course. What I suggest is to just bring your Corona Extra up to a simmer, then add to the cup.

- with some hops of course, for flavor.

Simple. Fantastic. Your friends will talk about this for weeks!

Every proper beer dinner needs a rockin’ meat course, but with busy days and kids and MMA – who has the time to braise a lamb’s foot? I don’t! So, I checked back at my bargain bin and found this on special – perfect!

Now, I’m not sure what meat this is, but I do know all meat tastes better when marinated in beer; therefore, I went to my old standby – the other half of that Corona tall boy. Just plop the meat thingy into a bowl like this.

Add the Corona…

And, of course, the secret ingredient – hops!

The greatest part of this course is, of course, the meat flavored Corona you’ll have once you toss that cube in the pan – that’s liquid gold there with flavors of meat and hops. With this, you’ll want to make a noodle dish to serve alongside the meat. I recommend Top Ramen, but this stuff will do in a pinch.

Now, what you need to do here is drain off the liquid from the meat right onto the noodles. Then add the spice pack and boil as you normally would.

Notice there’s less liquid in this bowl. That’s normal, what you’d expect really after using the liquid for the Ramen.

Tell me that’s not a match made in heaven!

Seriously folks, this is too easy! Anyone can do this. The best part, all in (if you’re lucky) you’re entire spread can be had for just around ten bucks! Your friends will think you’re a genius and I guarantee this’ll be a meal they won’t soon forget. I know I won’t.