Beer of the Week: Joseph James Hop Box Imperial IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I was in The Dray recently enjoying a cold malt beverage and I noticed that a large number of people were ordering a beer they had on tap that I had never tried – Joseph James Hop Box Imperial IPA. In case you are not familiar with them, Joseph James is located in Henderson, Nevada and has been brewing beer since 2006. The Imperial IPA is described on their website as follows:

… has a large Hop Aroma and sweetness from dark caramel malts. This brew uses Simcoe and Cascade hops and is hopped at 5lbs per barrel. The brew is 9.3% ABV, 90 IBU’s, and best enjoyed at 55F. Serve in a 25cl goblet.

Hop Box pours amber, almost ruby in color with an off brown head. Malty with a slightly floral nose and I was picking up something that I could not quite place my finger on (rosemary?) Lots of grain on the initial taste, with hints of flowers and citrus. There is a slight bitterness that fades rapidly with tons of tannins. Lots of sugar coated my palate, which is very odd for an IPA. My opinion kept changing on this beer as it warmed – one sip I thought it was a fine version of an imperial IPA and the next, it tasted like a liquid sweet tart. I can best describe this beer as confusing and inconsistent and I really think I need to retry it.

Overall, Joseph James Hop Box scores a preliminary 3 six-shooters out of 5, with me reserving the right to change the score on a retaste.

Beer of the Week: Fort George Spruce Budd Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I like beers that are different. I have a ton of them stocked in the beer cellar right now that will keep me writing beer reviews well into 2013 (assuming the Mayans were not right). Recently, I saw an update to Chuck’s Hop Shop tap list that Fort George Spruce Budd Ale was on tap.

Here is the description of the beer from the Fort George website:

With the help of many Fort George fans we picked over 120 lbs. of Spruce tips, leaving our arms aching from the constant stabbing of the Spruce needles. Through all of that pain of picking over 35 lbs. of Spruce tips for each batch came a beer that cannot be rivaled in deliciousness. With nothing more than organic pilsner malt and Spruce tips for ingredients, this beer might be the best thing you have ever put in your mouth. With Spruce tips being full of vitamin C, this beer is incredibly good for your health* and can lead to a longer life.** With each glorious sip you are able to realize what an adventure into the woods taste like. With hints of Spruce, citrus, and more Spruce, these beer tastes like a Spruce tree. With the summer heat in full swing, grab a growler of Spruce Budd, find a some shade underneath a tree and enjoy life.

*Probably not true
**Definitely not true.

This beer clocks in a 4.9% ABV and is brewed with no hops (the spruce tips essentially replace the hops). I picked up a growler and the beer appears to only be available on tap.

Spruce Budd pours pale yellow in color with lots of carbonation. There are hints of malt on the nose, but not much else – it has the aroma of an American Lager (i.e. Bud) without any hint of adjuncts. The initial taste was slightly fruity and crisp, without much going on. After a few seconds, you get a burst of raspberry and spruce in a short, dramatic finish. It reminded me of a Jolly rancher candy – slightly sweet, slightly tart. The spruce flavor is balanced and it does not overpower a very subtle beer. As the beer warms, it become slightly bitter and tannic, but not hop like, and the bitterness and tannins fade quickly. Mrs. Iron Chef made the comment that she felt the beer was lacking something, and I immediately said “hops” – I had been thinking the exact same thing that she was. A bit of inclusion of hops would make for a more complex beer and probably would have helped the finish to linger just a bit longer.

Spruce Budd goes down extremely easily and would be perfect for sitting on the back deck on a hot day. The beer is light and refreshing and you feel like you can enjoy several without thinking about it when the weather calls for an ice cold beverage, but you want something with more complexity and flavor than a Bud.

Overall, Spruce Budd is interesting if you have never tried a beer made with spruce, and definitely refreshing if you are looking for something light and not hoppy, but still want something with flavor.

Spruce Budd gets 3 Piceae out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Laughing Dog Brewing Alpha Dog

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Laughing Dog Brewing out of Ponderay, Idaho, is one of the more underrated breweries in the Northwest. The produce several good beers, but where they excel is in their IPA’s producing several outstanding ones. One of my favorites is the Alpha Dog, a very highly hopped double IPA, coming in a sizzling 127 IBU.

This beer pours amber and slightly fizzy with a smooth, white head. The nose is pleasantly floral from the inclusion of Columbus and Mt Hood hops and teases with hints of malted barley. The initial taste yields a great crispness without being tannic with a short hit of bitterness followed by a lingering hoppiness with a hint of sweetness on the finish.

As the beer warms, the bitterness fades and is replaced by a subtle sweetness with a more pronounced floral notes on the nose. My only complaint about this beer is that it lacks the strong citrus notes I love in an IPA – they are there, but barely noticeable, even as the beer warms. Even then, there is tremendous balance in this beer, producing a high IBU beer with enough bitterness to remind you that you are drinking an Imperial IPA, but not so much bitterness that the only people who would drink this are the most hardened IPA lovers. At 8%, you probably won’t find yourself having more and one or 2 of these.

Overall, I love this beer and would gladly drink it any time someone handed me one or I see it in a bottle shop.

Alpha Dog gets 4 canines out of 5.