Saturday, April 21, 2012

Bar Review: Tallgrass IPA

6.3% ABV, 60 IBU
In my first bar review, I mentioned that stout is my first love. I may go more into detail on that in some other post, but for now it suffices to say that I don't normally go for hoppy beers. In the past I've gotten the impression they upset my stomach, although I could be imagining that link. I'm willing to try something new. When I picked up that Buffalo Sweat last week, I saw Tallgrass also had an IPA for sale where I was shopping. I decided to take a risk on it, given that I knew the superb quality of Buffalo Sweat.

For those who don't know, IPA stands for India Pale Ale. It's a style of brew that was developed by the British during their rule of India. They found that more traditional beers don't make the journey very well, but if they added extreme levels of hops, it lasted longer. And had a much higher alcohol content. Extreme hops means it's more extreme, and I can get into that.

This is pretty damn good. It's got a bright, complex, fruity, somewhat citrus flavor to it. It also gives you just the right buzz, which is always a plus. Like other Tallgrass brews, it comes in a 4-pack of pint cans for about $8.

The Verdict: I give the Tallgrass IPA 4 out of 5 stars. I'll let you know later if it upset my stomach or if I just gave hops an unnecessarily bad rap.
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filed at 11:46 PM

3 comments:

  1. Full Metal Attorney10:43 PM, April 22, 2012

    Updates:
    1. I did not get an upset stomach. I blamed hops for a problem that was probably caused by the mere fact of shitty beer.

    2. While one gave just the right buzz, so did two.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Carm12:31 PM, April 23, 2012

    I usually prefer Pale Ales during the spring or the fall, but if it has just the right amount of hoppiness, then it's a great brew to have all year long.

    As far as microbrewery Pale Ales with great flavor go, try Alpha King by Three Floyds (Munster, IN), Daisy Cutter by Half Acre (Chicago, IL), Flying Dog Pale Ale (Frederick, MD) Headwaters Pale Ale by Victory Brewing (Downington, PA) or Stone Pale Ale (San Diego, CA).

    My favorite Pale Ale of all time though is Iron Fist (yes, named after the Motorhead song), by Revolution Brewing in Chicago. You can only get it there, but you can take it home in a growler. The hoppiness borders on smelling like good cannabis, most especially at it's freshest from the tap. Great afternoon/dinnertime brew. I usually chow down on Pulled Pork sandwiches with these.

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  3. WC9:15 AM, April 24, 2012

    The only thing that kept this beer from a 5/5 on my session was the fact they went with an african elephant (http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/shah_rach/AfricanElephant111.jpg) rather than an asian one. :P

    Great beer, but I generally like IPAs so I guess I'm a pushover.

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