Earlier this week, I reviewed a slate of Henry Weinhard beers to the delight of many readers (I can tell by the dozens of comments). So it is with relish that I bring you yet more news of Henry's--knowing as I do how much you love the subject.
At long last, I managed to get my hands on the IPA, which has been sold out every time I've tried to track it down. As you may recall from an earlier post, it's a nearly-real IPA, with 45-50 IBUs (reports vary), and 6% alcohol. Technically, both put it into the category, but they are similar to BridgePort's IPA, and BridgePort's wheelbarrow of trophies always came in other-than-IPA categories. I'd call this a shade light on hops and alcohol.
But who cares how well it fits the label's designation, right? How does it taste?--that's the real question. Answer: not bad. I'd call it a decent beer in absolute terms. If my hand were descending toward a sixer of Inversion or Terminal Gravity, it wouldn't detour for Hank's. But I'd choose it before a fair number of craft beers out there--[cough] Flat Tire [cough]. In terms of flavor and aggressiveness, it's certainly passes for an authentic micro (unlike the rest of the line).
It had a nice nose of citrus and earthy/pepper, a rich, flavorful hop bite, and a nice crisp finish. It's not overly complex or scintillating, but at $10 a half-rack, a very decent beer for the economical shopper.
I agree its actually not a bad "light IPA".
ReplyDeleteIt does tend to sell out though. I hope they have enough to last all summer as this would be a nice non-aggresive IPA to drink in quantity while grilling or camping.