IPA
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In Praise of Haze
In Praise of Haze It may seem like a misguided topic for an article. After all, everyone is brewing them and everyone is doing them. Or drinking them at least. The haze craze doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon, so what am I on about? Well, it goes by many a name, New England…
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The Aroma Files #004: Pineapple
The Aroma Files #004: Pineapple Pineapple is one of the most intriguing beer aromas. Even more fascinating is that while fresh, canned, and dried pineapple all have different and progressive aromas, so do the pineapple aromas in beer. Lets first explore the varying components making up the pineapple aromas in the fruit and its derivatives.…
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The Aroma Files #003: Mango
The Aroma Files #003: Mango When the juicy/hazy/NEIPA craze was in its infancy I tasted a beer that was strong with mango. Very strong. Incidentally, it contained mango pulp. Subsequently, I tasted another IPA that smelled of mango, less overtly, and not a mango was to be found. This was one of my first forays…
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The Aroma Files #002: Pine
The Aroma Files #002: Pine “A classic West coast IPA with prominent notes of pine and resin”. Visually, it’s easy to reconcile right? Hop cone, pine cone. Conveniently, the chemistry isn’t overly vexing either. The pine aromas mainly come from a few terpenes and terpenoids which are present across hops, conifers and rosemary. The primary…
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The Aroma Files #001: Grapefruit
The Aroma Files #001: Grapefruit Along with resin, pine, dank, and floral, grapefruit seems to be one of the most common basic descriptors of American hop aroma, heavily weighted towards IPAs. Of course we know (most of the time) there is no actual grapefruit in the beer, so where does this aroma and flavour come…
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When Hops Fight Back: Understanding Hop Burn
When Hops Fight Back: Understanding Hop Burn It was one of those hot and humid Toronto summer days where heat radiates out of the pavement, hitting you from all sides with no relief. My wardrobe choices weren’t exactly helping the situation either, but finally I arrived at my destination, a semi shaded patio. The friend…
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IPA and Curry, a Match Made in Hell
The Bitter Pain of Spice and (some) Beer Some classic pairings just make sense. Fish n’ chips with best bitter, steamed mussels and gueuze, bratwurst and pils. Not only do they work on a sensory level, but they are so culturally linked, they really are a natural fit. This simple beauty can lead us to…
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Hoppy Ever After: A Guide to IPAs
Hoppy Ever After: A Guide to IPAs It wasn’t so long ago that everyone was making fruited kettle sours, and almost nothing but. It also felt like most of them were the same base beer with the fruit being the differentiator. The sours still exist but have settled into a more appropriate portion of the…