Brew Review: Clay Pipe Hop-Ocalypse IPA

Poured this Maryland native from a 12 oz bottle into a standard point. Sort of a weird, bright white, crunchy head. Mild aroma. A watery IPA. Reddish-amber in color.

This didn't fit the West Coast massively hopped IPA taste profile despite the ominous name. It kind of flies solo as far as IPA's go, not West Coast, not East Coast, not British IPA (flavor-wise), which I sort of appreciate. I actually liked this beer, but it's just quite watery and mild for an IPA but the flavor, while challenging to describe, was suitable.

Folks new to IPA's might like this beer, as it doesn't kill you with the sort of tart, potent hop bitterness of most IPA's, particularly the more popular versions. My notes from last night said "highly drinkable". The flavor was more pine than citrus as far as the classic IPA "pine and citrus" definition goes.

Worth a try, feel free to let me know in comments what you think of this Maryland native! It earned a B- (3.49 average) at Beer Advocate.

What's New In My Fridge

From The Perfect Pour

Six pack (cans!) of Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale (CO)
750 ml bottle Rodenbach Grand Cru (Belgium)
16 oz bottle St. Sebastiaan Golden (Belgium)
16 oz bottle St. Sebastiaan Grand Reserve Belgian Ale (Belgium)

From Corridor Wine & Spirits

Six pack Victory Whirlwind Witbier (PA)

12 oz individual bottles the rest of the way:

Clay Pipe Hop-Ocalypse IPA (MD)
Clay Pipe Backfin Pale Ale (MD)
Wild Goose Nut Brown Ale (MD)
Clipper City Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale (MD)
Clipper City Holy Sheet Uber Abbey Ale (MD)
Clipper City Red Sky At Night Saison Ale (MD)
Flying Dog Garde Dog Bier De Garde Seasonal (MD)
Hacker Pschorr Weisse (Germany)
Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager (CA)
Smuttynose Hanami Ale (NH)
Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre Deep Mahogany Ale (DE)
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout (DE)

Couple thoughts here:

• I'll discuss it more later, but I wanted to try beer out of a can. It's been a long time since I've had beer out of a can (back then I didn't know any better and was drinking Coors Lights and Tecates), but thanks to a tip from Summer of Beer Steve, I'm giving it a chance. The folks at Oskar Blues actually make a great case for producing high quality beers in a can.
  
• I'm trying to get a taste for the smaller local breweries that I see from time to time at liquor stores. Thus: Clay Pipe, Wild Goose. I've actually had Wild Goose's award-winning IPA, but didn't enjoy it much. It is very much in the British style and not the American style. No worries though, that's why we try things and why beer is so great, there's tremendous variety and I bet somewhere Wild Goose has something I'll really enjoy.
• Clipper City is also local, but it seems to be a much bigger name. Several of their products are intriguing and I've previously enjoyed a bottle of the Holy Sheet.
• I haven't hyped it up yet, but Corridor Wine & Spirits is great. It's a bit out of my way down in Laurel, but their selection is above average. My old man goes there for the wine, but they have plentiful selection of six pack beers as well as an impressive wall of individual bottles from around the states and the world.
• Little tip from the friendly clerk at Corridor: bust your tail down to Corridor if you enjoy Clipper City's Red Sky at Night. That item tends to fly off the shelves, per his claim.
  

So that's that. Hopefully those will keep me entertained for a while.