Moylan’s India Pale Ale

Brewer: Moylan’s Brewery

Rating: 3 CMUs (CrapMonkey Units) 

With its gold, cloudy color; this beer looks nice in the glass. Unfortunately, the aroma didn’t capture me the way I’d hoped and the taste left something more to be desired. I’m a fan of the hoppy flavor that IPA’s are known for, and Moylan’s IPA definitely brings the hops (in fact, it is dry hopped with two hop varieties). Unfortunately, the fruity hops flavor seems to overpower the rest of the beer like a choir without its bass and baritones. Moylan’s also makes a Double IPA which I have heard good things about but have not yet tried. That beer is described as having an”…enormous malt backbone like naughty monkeys on a vine. Double malt, double hops.” Perhaps the malt backbone in the double provides the balance that the single IPA is lacking.

Rogue Brutal Bitter – 59 IBU

Brewer: Rogue Brewery

Rating: 4.5 CMUs (CrapMonkey Units)

Don’t let the name fool you, this is certainly not a brutal beer.  In fact, it is quite smooth and respectful of the senses.  The beer starts with a very good pour – foamy, but not to the point of annoyance. Additionally, the aroma suits this bitter well.  You are struck with the sense of walking into a brewery as this beer reaches your nose – a sensation that lasts the duration of the beer.  The taste is delicious, but I was expecting something a bit more hoppy and bitter given the name.  Be careful pairing food with it as it’s much more susceptible to  being overpowered than its name would have you believe.  I also have to say that it is a surprisingly even tasting beer.  The first taste that hits your tongue is nearly identical to the mild and pleasing taste it leaves behind.  I would recommend this as an after-dinner beer, perhaps on a Sunday evening on the patio as the sun sets.  To that end, a very mild cigar would also share the stage with a Brutal Bitter quite nicely.  

As if you needed an excuse to drink beer, the week of May 14th through 20th is American Craft Beer Week.  With nearly 1500 craft breweries now operating in the United States, the average american lives within 10 miles of a brewery.  Celebrate your freedom of choice and your inalienable right to flavor by visiting your neighborhood brew pubs and enjoying a cold beer.  

If you really want to celebrate the glories of beer, join the Great American Beer Tour!  Download this passport and have it signed by brewery employees as you transform yourself into a tourist on the ultimate journey to beer Nirvana.  Have your passport signed at each of your destinations and be eligible to win prizes (including the grand prize: a trip to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver).   Not sure where to start your Journey?  Beertown has some great tools for putting together your itinerary, like this brewery locator.  Life is too short to drink bad beer.  Let American Craft Beer Week serve as a great reminder to slow down and smell the hops.