Odell Brewing - St Lupulin Extra Pale Ale

Tonight I'm going to try the St. Lupulin Extra Pale Ale from Odell Brewing in Fort Collins, CO. 
This is a seasonal brew from Odell that features, of course, the hops.  There is a story on the label of the bottle that is too small for a picture...here it is:

"A mystical legend echoes in our brewhouse - that of St Lupulin the archetypal hophead,.  He devoted endless summers to endless rows of hops, tending to the flowers and the beloved resin within - lupulin.  Extraordinary oils in this yellow resin provide this dry-hopped extra pale ale with an undeniably pleasing floral aroma and clean, crisp finish.  One sip of this season summer ale and you too, will believe."

Speaking of lupulin, Steve and I brewed an IPA this weekend with fresh Cascade hops grown on his father-in-law's farm. This gave us an opportunity to inspect the hops, and when you peel apart the hop flower and look closely, you can see the little pockets of lupulin oils on the leaves.  Pretty cool!  We will devote a post to the brew-session and include pictures.

The color is golden straw with 1 inch of pure white frothy head.  The aroma is earthy and floral, sweet oily orange and a hint of pine needles.  The taste starts off with an assertive, bubbly bitterness.  Primary flavors here are pine resin and zesty citrus rinds.  Musty, herbal grassiness in the background, along with light grainy maltyness that lends just a tad of sweetness to the mix...reminiscent of honey.  The 6.5% alcohol is nowhere to be found.  The finish is dry with a bit of oily resin hanging on with it's lingering bitterness. 

Overall Rating:  This was a nice, well-balanced, hoppy EPA from Odell.  Easily one the best EPA's I've had in a long time - light, drinkable, refreshing.  I recommend this beer to go with a summer BBQ - it would compliment a big hearty dinner.  A-

Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial IPA

Congratulations to the Packers and all you cheeseheads out there - Super Bowl Champs!  Rodgers has indeed proven to be a legitimate successor to Favre.  By the way, did anyone else think the half-time show was awful?  The song Fergie sang with Slash was like nails on a chalk-board.  But, the game was great and the Packers earned their throne.

You may have noticed that lately, I've been drinking and reviewing a lot of Imperial IPAs.  Well, it's true, and I can't really explain why that is.  The only explanation I can come up with is the fact that we are about 65% through an absolute shit-storm of a winter in MN, and my body is naturally craving the warmth, bite, and vitamins found in big IPAs.  So for those of you that hate IPAs, and hate me for reviewing them so much, I give you my most insincere apology. 

Tonight I am popping open this bottle of Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial IPA.  This beer comes in Moylan's signature pint bottle with a label that lists the awards the beer has won, along with a map that shows where the brewery is located.  The label states that this beer is 9.2%ABV, and that it is "Triple Hoppy".  Triple hoppy makes me triple happy.  The beer pours a clear dark orange with a hefty off-white head the sticks.  The aroma is....pungent, wafting, fumegous, potent!  Strong smells of ripe, fresh-cut oranges and smashed flowers, and lemon zest.  There's also a bit of sweet honey in the background.

The first sip doesn't disappoint - this beer is an absolute hop-bomb.  Oily resins and bitterness lead the assault.  The hop profile is a blend of fresh pine and cedar, along with fresh lemons and some flowers (imagine eating... the smell... of a fresh flower).  The malt backbone takes back seat - it's there, and provides a nice honey sweetness, but really hides in the shadows of the hops.  The finish is a paradox, dry and oily.  The body is medium and the carbonation is crisp.

Overall Rating:  (5.5 out of 6.0)  Now please keep in mind, these ratings are always subjective, so they have to be taken in context.  My taste buds crave the lupulins - the more bittering hops, the better.  So for me, this beer was bliss.  This is an IPA that actually comes close to my favorite - Surly Wet - a beer that sits close to my heart.  The only difference with this beer is the malt backbone - a little more muscle there, and this could take down Surly Wet as my favorite IPA.  Hop-lovers rejoice - this beer is phenomenal.