Beer of the Weekend #838: Uptown IPA
The beer of the weekend is Uptown IPA, brewed by the Firetrucker Brewery of Ankeny, Iowa.
The color is cloudy bronze. A half-finger of beige, buttery head leaves a bubble-spotted skim and ring around the edge. The aroma is muted but there are scents of mandarin orange, caramel, and floral hops. It reminds me of Chinese food—anything cooked or served with mandarin sauce, of course. The flavor has a lot more bite than the aroma led me to believe. The bitterness works the taste buds and settles on the tonsils. Mandarin orange is the most prominent flavor, but caramel and grapefruit are also present. The can says it is more citrusy than bitter (despite the fact the beer’s webpage says it is more floral than bitter), but I think it is the other way around, or at least balanced. It has a candy-like, dark fruit element as well. It tastes much better out of the can.
Fun facts about Uptown IPA:
• Style: IPA.
• Price: $9.99 at the “Drug Town” on First Avenue in Iowa City.
• Alcohol content: 5.8 percent ABV.
• IBU: 67.
• Here is my goal for the rest of the summer: no more IPAs. I have been hitting IPAs pretty hard recently and need to branch out. I am leery of drinking anything too dark (brown ale and beyond) during the summer, so we’ll see what I can do. Sours are all the rage right now, but so far sours are not my thing.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.
The color is cloudy bronze. A half-finger of beige, buttery head leaves a bubble-spotted skim and ring around the edge. The aroma is muted but there are scents of mandarin orange, caramel, and floral hops. It reminds me of Chinese food—anything cooked or served with mandarin sauce, of course. The flavor has a lot more bite than the aroma led me to believe. The bitterness works the taste buds and settles on the tonsils. Mandarin orange is the most prominent flavor, but caramel and grapefruit are also present. The can says it is more citrusy than bitter (despite the fact the beer’s webpage says it is more floral than bitter), but I think it is the other way around, or at least balanced. It has a candy-like, dark fruit element as well. It tastes much better out of the can.
Fun facts about Uptown IPA:
• Style: IPA.
• Price: $9.99 at the “Drug Town” on First Avenue in Iowa City.
• Alcohol content: 5.8 percent ABV.
• IBU: 67.
• Here is my goal for the rest of the summer: no more IPAs. I have been hitting IPAs pretty hard recently and need to branch out. I am leery of drinking anything too dark (brown ale and beyond) during the summer, so we’ll see what I can do. Sours are all the rage right now, but so far sours are not my thing.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.
