Beer of the Weekend #338: Centennial IPA
I will be traveling a lot in April and want to get my May LV recommendation out of the way before I hit the road. May will feature the second step of my introduction to hops: an IPA. Which will it be?
Joe Hotek helped me select a sixer’s worth of candidates today. When I told him I was looking for IPA he immediately gave me two versions from Founders. Their release having been hyped for weeks, brews from Founders hit the IC market last week and they are now all the rage. I know nothing about Founders so I have decided to start my LV samplings with Centennial IPA, brewed by the Founders Brewing Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Serving type: One 12-ounce bottle. There is a partial freshness date printed on the shoulder of the bottle (probably due to a stamping error) so I cannot make it out. I appreciate the effort, though.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a clean, golden copper. Two fingers of dense, buttery, eggshell-colored head dissipated evenly to leave a thin lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: Maltier than I was expecting, though it does offer seducing citrus notes underneath. Lots of sweet caramel, toasted malts, grapefruit, cara cara orange, lemon, pine, and grassy and floral hops. It is not punch-in-the-nose potent but it is complex.
Taste: It is now time for the hops’ 15 minutes of fame. The full-bodied mouthfeel is almost coarse. At first it tastes grassy, but then the pine, grapefruit, lemon, and cara cara orange take over. Each sip leaves a nice, bitter coating, especially on the middle of the tongue. The hops do not completely outshine the malts, though: caramel and toffee hang out in the background. The booze makes itself known toward the end of the pint, too.
Drinkability: Nice, hoppy stuff. It is not super aggressive, but it does offer a good bite.
Fun facts about Centennial IPA:
-Style: BA classifies it as “American IPA.”
-Price: $1.99/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 7.2 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends Thai and curried cuisine; peppery, sharp, and pungent cheeses; poultry, fish, shellfish, and salmon.
-IBU: 65.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A.
Joe Hotek helped me select a sixer’s worth of candidates today. When I told him I was looking for IPA he immediately gave me two versions from Founders. Their release having been hyped for weeks, brews from Founders hit the IC market last week and they are now all the rage. I know nothing about Founders so I have decided to start my LV samplings with Centennial IPA, brewed by the Founders Brewing Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Serving type: One 12-ounce bottle. There is a partial freshness date printed on the shoulder of the bottle (probably due to a stamping error) so I cannot make it out. I appreciate the effort, though.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a clean, golden copper. Two fingers of dense, buttery, eggshell-colored head dissipated evenly to leave a thin lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: Maltier than I was expecting, though it does offer seducing citrus notes underneath. Lots of sweet caramel, toasted malts, grapefruit, cara cara orange, lemon, pine, and grassy and floral hops. It is not punch-in-the-nose potent but it is complex.
Taste: It is now time for the hops’ 15 minutes of fame. The full-bodied mouthfeel is almost coarse. At first it tastes grassy, but then the pine, grapefruit, lemon, and cara cara orange take over. Each sip leaves a nice, bitter coating, especially on the middle of the tongue. The hops do not completely outshine the malts, though: caramel and toffee hang out in the background. The booze makes itself known toward the end of the pint, too.
Drinkability: Nice, hoppy stuff. It is not super aggressive, but it does offer a good bite.
Fun facts about Centennial IPA:
-Style: BA classifies it as “American IPA.”
-Price: $1.99/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 7.2 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends Thai and curried cuisine; peppery, sharp, and pungent cheeses; poultry, fish, shellfish, and salmon.
-IBU: 65.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A.
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