Beer of the Weekend #571: RAYGUN IPA

Last week, I wrote a review of Stone’s Enjoy By 04.20.14 IPA for the LV. It was awesome. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture and there are no more bottles around town. Well, at least at the Co-op. I’m glad I nabbed a bottle when I did, but I will keep my eyes peeled for another.

One bottle I did grab (from the Co-op bargain bin) before it was gone was RAYGUN IPA, brewed by Backpocket Brewing of Coralville, Iowa.


Serving type: 22-ounce bottle. No freshness date.

Appearance: Served in a tulip. The color is medium, copperish amber. Two fingers of dense, eggshell-colored head dissipates unevenly, leaving a web of lacing along the glass and a bubbly, spotted skim.

Smell: Citrus and malts. The citrus is not in-your-face invigorating, but are still enticing. Sticky grapefruit, orange, a little mango, pineapple, gritty floral hoppiness, and pine resin. The citrus is tempered by caramel.

Taste: Bitter and well-balanced. It is mostly malty, so I wonder if the hops have degraded. However, the bitterness is still there. (I have no clue when it was bottled, though.) Grapefruit, orange, mango, pineapple, floral hop grittiness, a little sweet fruit (perhaps strawberry or peach), caramel, and pale malts. The bitterness is present throughout each sip and lingers in the aftertaste. The alcohol slowly emerges and becomes prominent, but it is never overpowering.

Drinkability: Tasty and very drinkable, RAYGUN IPA is good stuff. It is too boozy to be quaffable, and the citrus is not as invigorating as I would expect from the “greatest IPA in the universe,” but it’s still good stuff.

Fun facts about RAYGUN IPA:

-Style: IPA.

-Price: $6.99/bottle from the bargain bin at the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City.

-Alcohol content: 7.6 percent ABV.

-IBU: 61.

-Hailed as “the greatest IPA in the universe,” RAYGUN IPA takes its name from Iowa’s very own RAYGUN, “the greatest store in the universe.”

Finally, a beer inspired by screen printers. Because if there's one thing screen printers know, it's how to drink beer. Two formidible Iowa-based companies have combined to bring this Galaxy-hopped ale.

-Speaking of RAYGUN, I was browsing the website and stumbled on this:

I like it.


The Quiet Man’s grade: B+/A-.

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