Readers Ask Again

Today's question is from Fuzz! It was actually in a comment left on his blog, but I am cross posting it here in an effort to update this site with something.

Fuzz asks:

"Love that India Pale Ale. I believe it is a Sierra Nevada. What's a double like?"

Glad you asked. It is like a regular IPA on roids. It is darker, on account of the increased amount of malt. This also gives it more alcohol kick.

It also contains A LOT of hops! The bottle claims that the brewer uses 7 different kinds of American hops! And not just a dab of this and a pinch of that - over 6 pounds of hops goes into each barrel.

The result is an intense beer, with a very fragrant nose and a deep hoppy taste. It blurs the line from a pale ale to a barleywine. Without seeing the label, I would have probably put it into the barleywine category - although most barleywines are more sweet than bitter. Maybe that is the difference.

The double IPA is not the kind of beer you are going to pound. You are not going to sit down with a 6 pack and drink em all up. Well not unless you had some buddies to help you out. This is the kind of beer you really only want one, maybe two of per sitting. It would make a good after dinner beer.

But it would be a terrible beach beer. Far too heavy. I picture this beer more as something you could crack open and pour into the proper glass (fine beer requires the right glass after all), while you lounge on the couch by the fireplace on a cool night.

Or in my case, while I hang out on the patio in the dead of winter and it feels like the whole world is air conditioned. A nice crisp cool South Florida winter night, with an optional patio fireplace thing if I ever get one.

The Samuel Adams "Longshot" beer selections are limited editions. They come from an annual home brewing contest sponsored by Samuel Adams. Various winners are selected from the entries, and Sam Adams brews winning beers for a period of time. The double IPA I have is a 2008 winner.

If you happen to find a box of "Longshot" pick it up. The box I have came with 2 double IPAs, 2 traditional bocks, and 2 cranberry wits.