Single-Wide IPA (bottle) - 3.0

Single-Wide IPA
India Pale Ale
Boulevard Brewing Company
Kansas City, MO
ABV: 5.7%

Jon:
Foamy to a fault... I don't even really understand how it's possible. Smells like a beer fest (in a good way). Good drinkability without overpowering your palate or sacrificing too much hop flavor.

3.4	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 2/5 5/10 4/5 8/10 5/5 3/5 7/10

Mark:
Really foamy, I poured it very carefully and it looked like I topped it off with spray foam insulation. Also, I'm allergic to this beer. Pretty good other than that. I wonder where I put my EpiPen...

3.8	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 5/5 7/10 3/5 8/10 4/5 3/5 8/10

Jere:
Foamy like the wolf... Too "alcohol-ey" for my tastes, once the foam finally dissipated.

1.7	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 1/5 4/10 2/5 2/10 2/5 3/5 3/10

7th Annual Boulder Strong Ale Fest

Not much time for new beers lately since we've been putting all our effort into the upcoming album, but Mark and I did get a chance to hit up the Boulder Strong Ale Fest this year. We were joined by the usual Kate and Jim, plus beer fest first-timer Rico. Since we are accustomed to unlimited pours at GABF, we were shocked to learn that we would only be receiving 16 coupons each. One coupon is good for a two-ounce pour of 8% ABV or higher ale. I put some extra cash in my pocket, thinking I'd need to buy quite a few more tickets to get through the night. But hold the phone, this is some stroooong beer. Not a single one of us used all of our tickets. But we did get in on some good stuff--here are some highlights:

• Great Divide's Hercules IPA is a full-on, all-up-in-yer-bizness IPA, with an explosion of citrusy hops. I can't believe I've somehow avoided it at my local liquor store this long. Shame on me.
• Pizza Port had some great offerings in the double IPA category, including the piney "Killer Dana" from San Clemente and the amazingly hoppy "Poor Man's IPA" from Carlsbad.
• Moylan's Brewery brought along Wet Hopsickle, which was quite reminiscent of Stone IPA (a very good thing). Also, Green Flash Brewing's Imperial IPA reminded me of Redhook's Longhammer IPA (also a good thing). Reminiscent, but with nearly twice the alcohol.
• The ever-present New Belgium brought along the mysteriously-named Kevin's Ale. It's described on the info sheet as a "strong golden ale with spices." Call me unrefined, but I couldn't get past the ginger to find any other spices. You got yourselves some very alcoholic ginger ale there, dudes.
• I also liked Redstone Meadery's Nectar of the Hops. I haven't had a lot of experience with mead, but it tastes like a syrupy agave nectar. Really not bad at all.
• I gotta throw a shout out to Alpine Beer's Pure Hoppiness, merely for the fact that I tried it toward the end of the night and wrote nothing but "bueno" in my notes. Did I mention that these were strong ales?

All in all, a good beer fest. But I must say that Harpo's is waaaay too small for this event. It took half of our coupons to stop being annoyed by the closeness of the crowd and enjoy ourselves.

-Jon

Revisited! Mojo (growler) - 5.0

Mark and Jon have been spending a bit of time over at the Boulder Beer Company's bar lately, so it's once again time to shower our favorite brew with some love...


Mojo
India Pale Ale
Boulder Beer Company
Boulder, CO
ABV: 6.8%

Jon:
Huge orange flavor, some subtle pine notes, and the most amazing bitterness on the finish. Sweeter on tap than in the bottle, but it adds to the depth of flavor and smells heavenly. $9 for a growler! This is the standard by which all IPAs should be judged.

5.0	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 5/5 10/10 5/5 10/10 5/5 5/5 10/10

Mark:
Liquid perfection! Definitely my favorite beer, and it's even better on tap! Crisp, clean... It hits you with a hoppy bitterness reminiscent of white grapefruit with floral hints and a clean mineral effervescence, followed by a bitter alcohol finish. Bravo!

5.0	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 5/5 10/10 5/5 10/10 5/5 5/5 10/10

Red Rocket Pale Ale (bottle) - 3.0

Red Rocket Pale Ale
American Pale Ale
Bristol Brewing Company
Colorado Springs, CO
ABV: 5.2%

Jon:
Honey colored, honey nose, honey taste. Strangely metallic finish. Somewhere between complex and easy-drinking, and rather unique.

3.4	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 8/10 3/5 7/10 3/5 2/5 7/10

Mark:
Slightly sweet, watered down, definitely different. Almost tastes like a stout that they somehow morphed into a pale ale. Tricky. Very tricky.

2.9	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 3/5 6/10 3/5 6/10 2/5 3/5 6/10

Jere:
Now it's Red Rocket instead of Red Truck--what's next, Red Comet? Works for me, this beer however is not really up my alley.

2.6	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 3/5 5/10 2/5 6/10 3/5 2/5 5/10

Red Truck IPA (bottle) - 3.0

Red Truck IPA
India Pale Ale
Palisade Brewery
Palisade, CO
ABV: ?

Jon:
Woah. There are some crazy sorts of bitterness going on here. It's very herbal; reminds me of some of the bitter flavors found in Cynar. Marks for complexity, but it's ultimately an unfortunate comparison because Cynar is one amazingly toxic drink.

3.4	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 3/5 8/10 3/5 7/10 3/5 3/5 7/10

Mark:
Fairly balanced for an IPA. Not quite the hops for me, but with an oddly watered-down bitter flavor. Not bad at all, definitely good quality, but the $9 price tag turned me off a little bit.

3.0	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 3/5 6/10 3/5 6/10 2/5 3/5 7/10

Jere:
Red Truck stands for bitter--too much for my tastes unfortunately. Not that I won't finish what I've started, mind you, but I can't say I'll enjoy it all that much.

2.5	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 6/10 3/5 4/10 3/5 2/5 3/10

Revisited! Hop Devil IPA (bottle) - 3.8

Hop Devil
India Pale Ale
Victory Brewing Company
Downington, PA
Alcohol Content: 6.7%
Old score: 3.8 (1/18/2008)

Jon:
I think I like this better the second time around, though it's apparently not reflected in the score. The nose reminds me of beer fest, probably because I seek out the hoppiest beers in the country for an entire evening. Solid brew.

3.7	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 8/10 4/5 8/10 3/5 3/5 7/10

Mark:
Bitter and sour! My two favorite flavors. This hits you with a bitter hoppy, lemony flavor, with a slightly sweet alcohol finish. Yum.

3.8	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 8/10 3/5 8/10 3/5 5/5 7/10

Jere:
Still as bitter this year as it was last, but I guess it's grown on me after 10 months and a day. I'm not sure why either, except that the beer reviewing has become synonymous with practicing, and is hence, an acquired taste.

3.7	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 9/10 3/5 8/10 2/5 4/5 7/10

Power Outage IPA (growler) - 3.8

Power Outage IPA
India Pale Ale
Rock Bottom Westminster
Westminster, CO
ABV: 6.5%

Jon:
Piney, very subtle. Interesting flavors if you give it a chance, but not hoppy enough at the first sip.

3.6	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 7/10 4/5 7/10 4/5 3/5 7/10

Mark:
This IPA kind of sneaks on you. At first it's a nice pleasant, mellow pale ale, then the hops hit you - bam! And you realize "it's an IPA!" Hooray! Nice hoppy aftertaste.

3.9	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 4/5 8/10 4/5 8/10 4/5 3/5 8/10

Jere:
This one sneaks up on ya, since it's not quite as bold as our usual IPA selection. I think I could get used to it though. Too bad it's not more widely available.

3.9	Appearance Aroma Palate Flavor Price Buzz Overall 5/5 9/10 3/5 8/10 4/5 3/5 7/10