I Walk In This World

An ode to Smuttynose India Pale Ale.

GOLD MEDAL WINNER - Best American Beer 2004 Great British Beer Festival

 “Hands-down one of the best American-style India Pale Ales ever crafted. This brew is lip smacking, with an aggressive and pungent grapefruit hop character. Wonderfully balanced and insanely drinkable.” - Jason & Todd Alström, the Weekly Dig’s Beer Highlights of 2004

Portsmouth, NH is a colonial era seaport town, so it goes to follow that sooner or later we’d brew an India Pale Ale as a tribute to those big, hoppy 19th century ales that made the long sea voyage from England’s temperate shores, ’round the Cape of Good Hope, to the sultry climes of the faraway East Indies.

But there’s another reason we brewed this beer, one that’s closer to our home and hearts. Hopheads. 

Ten years ago we brewed our first batch of Shoals Pale Ale, our American interpretation of the traditional British ESB (Extra Special Bitter) style. At the time, it was widely considered to be darned hoppy. However, a funny thing happened over the last decade - our Shoals Pale Ale didn’t change; beer lovers did, and we started to hear more and more: “Why don’t you guys make a really hoppy beer?”

You could say, then, that Smuttynose IPA is a physical salute to the glory of the American hop grower. The citrusy hop flavor coming from a mixture of Simcoe and Santiams is pleasantly balanced by a smooth bitterness from the Amarillo hops. The beer itself is light bodied and crisp with a golden color that will throw a slight haze, as we bottle it unfiltered. At 65 IBU’s, this is definitely not a training-wheels IPA, but is meant for hop lovers looking to satisfy their craving in a way that’s not easy to find. We think they’ll be quite pleased.

             ~Smuttynose Brewing Company

Far prettier description than I could have come up with.  But gosh dang.  This is one smashing beer.  It is hoptastic and not sweet, for those of you IPA fans that like a mix of sweet in there.  This is sharp and full of flava.  I NEED flava.  Hoppier and bitterer the better.

Might anyone have any good IPA recommendations for me?  I am an expert.  But I always look forward to new suggestions & beers to sample.

Hmm.  Maybe Fridays will turn into IPA reviews here in Erin’s house.

How about Din, paired with the IPA?

At the table…

• Boboli personal sized whole wheat pizza with asiago cheese & peppers, onions, mushrooms
• tossed salad with goat cheese and lf rasp dressing
• Smuttynose IPA (in a proper glass)

I def ate the whole personal  pizza, and not just those pretty 3 baby slices up there.  C’mon…

The hubz is entertaining a visiting Aussie co-worker in Princeton, so Erin’s here with the dog, Sopranos DVDs, and eventually House Hunters International. 

Once again, my office reached a balmy high of 80 degrees this afternoon.  Being a cold blooded little duck, I was fine.  But my coworkers were suffering.  We shall see what Monday brings, with outside temps in the 80s (today was in the upper 60s).  I predict passing out.  Not me.  But someone.

Afternoon yogurt…

• kiwi
• honey OIKOS
• with krap mixed in (apricot, dried cherries, unsweetened coconut, kashi)

Ok.  It’s Friday.  Get off the computer Erin.  Don’t be one of THOSE people….

Yeah, I’m totally one of THOSE people…don’t worry.

Nite.

© 2009, Erin. All rights reserved.

Tags: IPA, Salad

This entry was posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 9:38 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.