Dank Hill Double IPA

I found it everybody, what just might be the greatest beer name of all time.  Certainly the best can art.  I give you the Dank Hill Double IPA from the good folks at 903 Brewers.  The 7.3% ABV brew pours a slightly fuzzy gold with a white head and smells of citrus and florals.  The flavor is a well rounded bitter mix of said floral notes and citrus along with some other notes of fruit and spice.  I don't know what that has to do with Hank Hill, but i'm sure glad it's a thing that exists.  Well played everyone.

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Jester King Phylactery Phactory Double Hazy IPA

It's still hot here, so we can't be drinking Fall brews all the time.  Enter the Phylactery Phactory Double Hazy IPA from the good folks at Jester King.  The 8.5% ABV brew pours a murky, hazy golden orange and smells of citrus, pineapple, and a ton of tropical fruit.  The flavor is similar, with lots of citrus and juice, lightly bitter, and maybe even just a touch sour.  It's definitely something good to drink in the sunshine.

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Lorelei Brewing Ephyra Double IPA

My vacation is coming to a close, reaching its sunset this evening with the real world waiting in the wings tomorrow morning.  Trying not to let that bring me down, while drinking the last of the beer we brought home with us from Corpus Christi.  And the Ephyra Double IPA from Lorelei Brewing is doing the best it can to ease the pain.  The 9% ABV brew pours a light caramel color with a white head and smells of tropical fruits and a little bit of pine.  The flavor is a mix of pineapple, grapefruit, pine, and a hint of alcohol, a real nice summertime brew.  Now i'm gonna go grab the last of them and enjoy the day.

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Austin Beerworks Peak Physique Triple IPA

I got to play the role of single dad this weekend with my two boys.  We went swimming.  We ordered pizza.  We watched "Predator."  Good times.  And i ended the evenings with one or two of these bad boys, the Peak Physique Triple IPA from Austin Beerworks.  The 11% ABV brew pours a nice golden color with a white head and smells of citrus, tropical fruit, pine, and hops.  The flavor is a good balance of pineapple, grapefruit and pine that lingers on the tongue well after the beer is finished.  Really a great brew all around.

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Frontyard Brewing Rye IPA

The past couple of months have seen the wife and i attempt to venture out a little bit into the world.  We both got our second vaccination shot back in March, so we've felt a little more comfortable hitting a brewery, so long as there's plenty of outdoor space to enjoy.  So for Mother's Day, we drove out into the country to Spicewood, Texas to hit up Frontyard Brewing.  Their beer has been circulating around Austin for a couple of years now, but this was our first trip out to their very pretty facility and taproom.  Beers and beautiful views of the Texas Hill Country were enjoyed, and naturally i brought some to-go brews back home with us.  And so we have the Rye IPA, a 9.1% ABV brew that pours gold with a white head and smells of citrus, pine, and a hint of spice.  The flavor is a good balance of said citrus and pine notes and the whole thing goes down smoother than one might expect given the high alcohol content.  A perfect weekend beer.

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Werewolves of Austin

It's Fall which means i'm still very much grooving on the darker brews most of the time, but it's also Central Texas which means it's still warm, so i'm also still very much grooving on citrusy IPA's.  And so we have the Werewolves of Austin Hazy IPA from Austin's Oddwood Ales, a 6.4% ABV brew that utilizes New Zealand hops to create one tasty libation.  The beer pours a hazy, goldish orange with a frothy white head and smells of pineapple, mango, berries, and citrus.  The flavor is a burst of those same notes with some maltiness on the backend to ground things, making for a real smooth and easy drinker.

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Red Horn Poptart Ravioli?

Poptart Ravioli?  It's a kettle soured strawberry milkshake IPA from Central Texas brewer Red Horn Brewing that involves actual poptarts in the brewing process.  The 6% ABV concoction pours a hazy, reddish gold with a white head and smells of tart fruits, strawberry, and vanilla.  The flavor is a sour mix of strawberry, cream, and just a hint of funk.  I like it when brewers get a little crazy, and it's even better when the end product is this tasty.

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Cigar City Florida Man DIPA

If they're calling it Florida Man, you'd think it would be kind of crazy, or at least illegal in other states.  But the Florida Man Double IPA from the fine folks at Cigar City Brewing is a tasty and balanced brew that could sit right in with your more civilized society, albeit in cut-off shorts and a tank top.  The 8.5% ABV beer pours a cloudy orange with a foamy white head and smells of citrus with notes of pine and florals.  The flavor is a wonderful, syrupy, and (probably too) easy to drink mix of orange, citrus, and tropical fruits with some hoppy pine notes and maybe a hint of clove.  Drink a few of these, take off your shirt, and go cause some trouble.

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Lazarus Desperate Measures

Small brewers all over the country have done everything they can to stay afloat during this stupid pandemic, to keep the lights on and keep wetting our whistles.  Mainly that's meant online beer-to-go sales and plenty of new brews.  Lazarus Brewing in collaboration with the soon to open Meanwhile Brewing and Charles Faram Inc.'s Hop Breeding Program have created a new beer for our consumption pleasure during these difficult times.  The first of four, Desperate Measures is a 7% ABV brew in what they're calling an Austin-style IPA featuring a proprietary hop named "Harlequin."  The beer pours gold with a white head and smells of hops, spices, and tropical fruit.  The flavor is mix of pineapple and peach notes along with hints of pine and drinkable, hoppy bitterness.  It's kind of a mutant style of IPA, but i am here for it.

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Zilker Late-Night Lookout Hazy Double IPA

It's a gray and rains holiday Monday here in Central Texas, so i'll try to brighten it up with a delicious and tropical noted brew.  Along with some other breweries in the greater Austin area, Zilker Brewing has been pumping out a slew of new beers during our time in lockdown.  The Late-Night Lookout Hazy Double IPA, an 8.2% ABV dream, pours a murky golden wheat with a white head and smells of tropical fruit and funk.  The flavor is heavy on the fruit, pineapple and grapefruit predominantly, but perfectly balanced with just the right amount of dankness.  Let's get more of this please.

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Odd Side Passion Dank Juice

What a long, strange day it's been.  Driving to work this morning with next to no traffic, the combined result of people having left town for Spring Break, the lack of influx of out-of-towners for a cancelled SXSW, and a coronavirus pandemic that just gets scarier and scarier with each passing hour.  I drove through a deserted downtown to get to the office, and then noticed the closed stores and restaurants during my lunch break.  The school district my kids attend called and emailed with the word that a return to school is now postponed until April.  And then my boss made the decision to have as many staff members as possible work remotely from home.  It's weird out there people.  And i'm trying not to panic.  And the Passion Dank Juice from Odd Side Ales is doing everything it can to help with that.  Pouring a hazy straw gold, the 6.75% New England IPA is, as its name would suggest, and dank and juicy treat.  Aromas of tropical fruit and passion fruit abound with some hints of spice and hops, and the flavor is a crisp mouthful of said tropical and passion fruits along with some grapefruit bitterness and lacey dankness.  Wonderful stuff.  I'll have to brave the virus and depleted grocery stores to obtain some more.

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Violet! You're Turning Violet! Blueberry Sour IPA

The folks over at Martin House just keeping it up with the hits lately.  Every concoction that they put their minds to ends up pleasantly surprising my palette.  And the Violet! You're Turning Violet! Blueberry Sour IPA does not disappoint.  Pouring a purplish (violet) hue with a bubbly white head, the 6.3% ABV smells of tart blueberries with hints of citrus and hops.  The flavor is a lot of blueberry and a lot of sour, but with some stabs of bitterness to counterbalance the whole thing.  Hoping this is the first of a whole series of chocolate factory demise-themed beers.

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4th Tap Brut of All Evil

Since we seem to be in the throes of an endless summer around these parts, i erred on the lighter, fruitier side of the beer spectrum over the weekend with the positively delightful Brut of All Evil from Austin's 4th Tap Brewing.  A 6.5% ABV Brut IPA with strawberry and watermelon, the beer pours a crisp, clear gold with a slight amber tint and a white head.  Aromas of strawberry and watermelon hit the nose with a slight flourish of hops, and the flavor is refreshing blend of the said strawberry and watermelon that finishes slightly bitter with a dry mouth feel, a wonderful Sunday beer.

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Family Business El Verano Single-Hop Juicy IPA

Yesterday was Father's Day and somehow i convinced my family to go with me to not one, but two breweries out in the Central Texas Hill Country.  My boys even seemed to enjoy themselves at both Jester King (there were goats!) and Family Business (there were naps!), and i had a healthy sampling of brews from both locations.  One of the (many) highlights was the El Verano from Family Business, a single-hop Juicy IPA that pours a hazy, wheaty gold with a white head and smells of orange, citrus, apricot, tropical fruits, and summer.  The flavor is a wonderful mix of said fruit notes with some melon and a slight hint of bitterness.  And even at 6.6% ABV, it was thirst quenching easy drinker for a warm day.  Happy Father's Day to me.

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Real Ale Skullberry Strawberry Milkshake IPA

It was hot as hell here yesterday, a bad omen for the rest of the summer, but at least i had the wonderful and delicious Skullberry, a strawberry milkshake IPA from Real Ale, to cool things off.  The 6.2% ABV brew pours a hazy, unfiltered gold with a solid white head and smells of berries, fruit, mildly dank hops, and maybe just a hint of cream.  The flavor is a sweet mix of berries and hops with a touch of lactose to soften the mouthfeel and a hint of vanilla.  What a fantastic summertime beer.  I imagine i'll be drinking throughout the season.

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Community 3D IPA

I've been an a hazy and juicy IPA trip of late.  Well, really for the last couple of years, as has the craft brew industry at large, but over the weekend i went with something a little more intense.  The 3D IPA, a triple IPA from Community Beer, uses 6 different kind of hops to wallop the senses.  Pouring an amberish gold with a big white head, the beer smells sweet, notes of pineapple, melon, and some tropical fruits abounding, along with some hints of malt and a subtle dankness.  The flavor is similar to the nose, the pineapple notes hitting first, followed by a warm alcohol feel and some caramel notes.  It's an interesting, heavy brew, 12% ABV with a veritable explosion of sweet, bitter, and booze on the tongue.  Give it a shot, but tread carefully.  And enjoy the pair of 3D glasses that come with the 4-pack.

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Martin House Bubble Haze Bubblegum Milkshake IPA

Fort Worth's Martin House Brewing has a pretty great track record with the quality of the beer, and they're never afraid to attempt new things.  And that brings us to their Bubble Haze, a 7.3% ABV hazy bubblegum milkshake IPA that tastes so much better than it probably has any right to.  Pouring a hazy gold with a bubbly white head, the beer smells of candy and bubblegum with some hints of fruit and subtle dankness.  It has a lacy mouthfeel that clings to the tongue, flavors of bubblegum, light citrus, sugar, and that dankness again rounding things out nicely, all with a slightly bitter finish.  Bravo.

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Pinthouse Pizza Electric Jellyfish IPA

Local brewpub/pizza eatery Pinthouse Pizza opened in Austin about six and a half years ago, and quickly cemented themselves as a go to place for beer lovers.  Now, they've got two additional locations and their Electric Jellyfish IPA (now finally being canned) has fast become THE local fave of the greater Austin area.  And why not?  It's damn good.  Pouring a hazy golden wheat color, the 6.5% ABV New England style IPA smells of fruit and citrus along with some floral and hop notes.  The flavor is a mix of grapefruit, pineapple, and other citrusy fruits with a medium to thick mouthfeel and some slight dank and hoppy notes on the back end.  I can drink this everywhere.

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Brieux Carré Phuk Boi

Another beer from my New Orleans trip last weekend, the naughtily named Phuk Boi from Brieux Carré Brewing Co. was the perfect kind of decadent yet easy drinking libation a crawl through the Crescent City calls for.  The brewery was also only 4 blocks or so from the house we were staying in.  A 6.1% ABV sour raspberry milkshake IPA, the beer pours a hazy gold with just the slightest of pink tints and smells of raspberries, citrus, and a hint of dankness.  The flavor is sweet and tart with the raspberries hitting on the front end, culminating in a lightly bitter, yet still tart, full-bodied milkshake feel on the back.  Tasty and easy to drink, seek out a Phuk Boi next time you're bumming around or near the French Quarter.

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Spindletap Houston Haze IPA

I do love me some hazy IPAs, and i love how prevalent the style has become, popping up in each and every brewery across the country.  Not to be left out, Houston's Spindletap Brewery offers up their excellent Houston Haze IPA, a 6.5% ABV brew that pours a hazy (naturally), orange and gold with a white head.  The beer smells tropical, notes of orange, mango, pineapple, and more hitting the nose along with some light floral hints.  The flavor is sweet and fruity, said tropical notes hitting the tongue first before giving way to some bitter hop notes and a slight bite on the back end.  It's a great addition to the style.

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