Hoist returns: IPA Experiments

I haven't touched this blog in four months, but still accumulated a fair amount of reviews in my notebooks.

Here's a few recent nuggets from the IPA spectrum's opposite ends.

Stone XI Anniversary Ale: If not for a closing-time cooler search from the Grand Cru Wine & Spirits staff, I'd have never gotten within a nose of this limited release in Stone's customary 22-oz. bomber bottles. Because it was already chilled I had little recourse but to sample immediately.

With one sniff of its lush roasted nose, I became a believer.

Black IPA, or as Stone dubs it, India Black Ale, is a bold pairing of IPA and stout. It pours dark brown, almost opaque, with a creamy stoutish head crowning it. The creaminess goes on, with the roasted malt sticking out firmly and crisply. The alcohol content isn't shy; at 8.7 percent, some traces of fruits both tropical and Mediterranean emerge (I swear I caught the scent of figs). The 11th Anniversary exhibits a stunning level of balance and complexity.

I'm not a big Stone drinker, but adding this limited release to its regular rotation, would goes a long way toward making me a fan.
Sampled: Sept. 27, 2007
Rating: 8.5/10

Houblon Chouffe IPA Dobbelen Tripel:
My excitement soared at sight of a new entry to the Brasserie d'Achouffe line; the quirky Belgian brewer and its mythic gnome brewers won me over with a Christmas pack in 2003.

It squandered all that good will with this entry by branching onto soil few Belgian brewers till -- imitating American brewing trends. This IPA was created in response to the American extreme beer craze, the doubling and tripling of hops and malt in recipes to force International Bitterness Units to palette-searing heights.

From that vantage point, Houblon Chouffe IPA succeeds. Yet the beer tastes like their normal blonde ale with a heavy hops infusion interfering with the familiar flavors and spice bouquets. This is a Frankstein of a beer -- taste the IPA enough, and it's easy to see the parts from which d'Achouffe cobbled it into a whole.

By tossing a mountain of hops into its normally august ales, d'Achouffe falls prey to the worst tendencies of American microbrews. The ale feels hastily assembled, and suffers strongly for it. (Purchased at Midtown Wine and Spirits, Nashville.)
Sampled: Aug. 5, 2007
Rating: 3/10