I remember the first time I participated in a horizontal
wine tasting. I was at a winery in
Santa Barbara, CA (Zaca Mesa) and we tasted a chardonnay of a certain
vintage. One of the wines was aged in
oak while the other was aged in stainless steel, this being the only difference
between the two wines. I was amazed at
the difference in the two flavors and this was when I first understood the
specific flavor imparted by the oak barrels.
t
We now have a unique opportunity to conduct a horizontal
tasting of India Pale Ales made with different hops courtesy of Dark Horse
Brewing Company in Marshall, MI. A few
weeks ago, this brewery released its IPA variety 12 pack (costs about $24). The
12 pack contains three sets of four IPAs.
Three of the IPAs are new single-hopped Dark Horse beers and are curiously
named Edacsac Dekorcc EERT (Cascade Hops), FF Dekorcc EERT (Falconer’s Flight-a
proprietary blend of several types of hops in pellet form), and Artic Dekorcc
EERT (Citra®
Hops). The final beer in the set is the
much beloved Crooked Tree IPA (Cascade, Centennial, and Columbus hops; AKA the
three-Cs of American hops). The labels
are a bit funky, but that keeps in line with Dark Horse Brewing Company’s brand
and the artwork of W. Ralph Walters (http://ralphwalters.wix.com/gallery).
As far as I can tell, all of these IPAs are brewed that same
way (ABV 6.5%) except for the hops. Hops
Fans—here is your opportunity to see what each of these hop varieties/blends
taste like in a quality IPA. You can purchase
a 12 pack and conduct your own horizontal hop tasting. I did and here is what I discovered.
Artic Dekorcc:
Average bitterness and a distinct grapefruit taste.
FF Dekorcc: Nice citrus and strong floral notes with
moderately high bitterness.
Edacsac Dekorcc: Mild floral and hop taste (I can see why this
hop variety has been popular for so many years).
Crooked Tree: Great
floral taste with a mild grapefruit and bitter finish.
All four are excellent IPAs!
Cheers,
Zymus
