IPA taste testing results

Surprised at Interurban, perhaps an old bottle or just not a fan favourite. Personally really like that one and Sculpin too.

 

Not really surprising. IPA's are not one of Fremont's better beers.

 

Surprised and yet not surprised by Union Jack. It's really a great IPA but I think it gets overlooked a lot.

I am surprised Top Cutter scored as low as it did.

 

Not to discount your experience, but I'd bet you'd get rather different results on a different day with the same people and the same beers.

If you bought the beers off the shelf, there's no way to ensure they were of the same freshness, the order you tasted them probably affected the beers' rankings, and a host of other variables produced the results you got on that day. Tasting them blind eliminates a lot of bias, but not everything.

 

A standard tasting would be no more than four beers but good on ya for doing the tasting. Amazing that you had so many great beers to try. All hail choice.

I take a little offense to the earlier statement that IPAs are not our best beers but I get it, everyone has different preferences. Many other people disagree (Interurban is the best selling IPA in the state, far outstripping every other beer I that list, so opinions vary). Again, the point is that it is a testament to why craft beer is important...choice allows each to find their own. All those are fine beers but I would add Stone IPA, Boundary Bay, Reuben's, Pfriem, Double Mountain, Kulshan, Boneyard, Breakside, Ninkasi, Crux....who am I missing?

And, I'm not really offended

 

That's a pretty solid list. I would add Georgetown Lucille. Often overlooked and not really suitable for the blind taste above but it really is a great IPA on par with the best in the PNW. If they canned that stuff, I think it would be a great seller.

 

Interurban just might be my least favorite of all of the IPA's they make, but if we're willing to group APA/IPA/DIPA together, Fremont is leap years ahead of any other brewery in Washington when it comes to the hoppy stuff. I mean - all of the Cowiche stuff, brother, sister, trifecta, triple trifecta, endurance, Ales for ALS, Spring Elixir, etc

 

i'd throw in multiple georgetown beers. i know eddie is an IPL, but it's one of the best hoppy offerings our city has.

 

Barley Browns is probably the only "big" one, but as a homer I'll throw in Silver Moon IPA 97 and Sunriver Vicious Mosquito as contenders too.

 

Let me introduce you to my little friend Bale Breaker.

 

We obviously have different tastes in IPAs.

 

Well - most of that stuff is very highly regarded in the various 'rating' avenues, so it would seem that the aggregate also enjoys their hoppy offerings. No need to agree with the aggregate, just sayin.

We all like Bale Breaker, but the sample size is so small. I'll be interested in seeing how they evolve with the growth and expansion.

 

I really want to try the saison Bale Breaker made years ago...

 

Yes, I can't recall ever tasting so much grapefruit in a beer, even more than grapefruit sculpin, than I did in Lucille. Really nice offering!

 

How did you clean your palate between all those? Did earlier beers get more favourable ratings before your tastebuds were ruined?

 

I have to agree. I genuinely wish I liked Interurban more. "It's not you, it's me." But every other hoppy beer I've ever had from them is excellent.

-- Nathan