Stickin in my IPA

It seems only natural that NOFX, a punk band with a 1994 album named Punk in Drublic, would eventually collaborate with a brewer to produce an alcoholic beverage of some sort.  What one would not expect is that it would take more than twenty years for that collaboration to take place and for the beer to be released. And, when I saw a craft beer collaboration between Champion Brewing (from Charlottesville, Virginia) and NOFX (from Los Angeles, California), I knew I had to try it.

From the craft beer perspective, I have tried beers inspired by musicians.  I've even blogged about a couple, including Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew (a tribute to Miles Davis) and Hellhound on my Ale (a tribute to Robert Johnson).  The effort of brewers to brew beer to commemorate a musician, especially when it focuses on an artist or musical style that I love, such as jazz or blues. 

One musical style that I really love is punk music.  Bands like Bad Religion, Pennywise, Minor Threat and, yes, NOFX, constitute a large portion of my digital music.  I have several of NOFX's albums, including Punk in Drublic, The War on Errorism, and Wolves in Wolves Clothing.  Some of my favorite songs include The Brews, Idiots are Taking Over and Leaving Jesusland.  

However, it is a song off of NOFX's album White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean that gives this beer its name.  The song is Stickin in my Eye, which the the basis for Sticking in my IPA.  The brewers at Champion gave a nod to NOFX's west coast roots by brewing this IPA in the "West Coast style."  This style means a heavy emphasis on the central features of the hops ... its bitter, piney notes.  The hops used in this beer are Simcoe and Falconer's Flight hops.  To round out the bitterness, the brewer use rye grains, which help to add a little "sweetness" and, in turn, a little complexity to the beer.  

The Stickin in my IPA pours a golden, amber color, with a small, thin foam that quickly recedes to the edges of the glass.  The hops work their magic in this beer.  The Falconer's Flight hops provide a wonderful aroma of piney notes, which are intermittently cut through with a sweetness from the rye and malts.  The Simcoe hops provide a strong, yet manageable bitterness to the taste of the beer.  The bitterness is shrouded in piney notes, with a sweetness that reveals itself after each sip.  As the sweetness greets the tongue, the bitterness holds on to the edges to serve as a reminder that this beer is an India Pale Ale with an IBU of 65 and an ABV of 7.5%. 

I found this beer at a local grocery store.  It sells for $8.99 a can.    It is definitely worth a try, even if you don't like or know about NOFX or punk music.

ENJOY!

The "Rye" of the Tiger

Rye.  It is a maligned grain.  Pliny the Elder once referred to rye as "a very poor food" that "only serves to avert starvation." Although grown in the wild in Anatolia and domestically by the Romans in a few hinterlands, rye nearly disappeared from the archaeological record for quite a while.  It reappeared in the Middle Ages, when farmers began to cultivate the grain in Central and Northern Europe.  Once harvested, people found a variety of uses for the grain, from bread to whiskey.

It would only be a matter of time until someone would try to brew beer with rye.  The "someone" was the Bavarians, who began to use rye in the Middle Ages to produce "Roggenbier" or a "Rye Beer."  However, a few bad harvests led to the decision that rye should be used to make bread rather than beer.  Then there was the Reinheitsgebot, or the Bavarian purity law.  That law declared that beer could be made only with barley, water, yeast, and hops, and rye nearly disappeared from the beer-making scene.  And that absence lasted for centuries.

More recently, craft brewers have revived the use of rye to produce beers.  One such brewer is Great Lakes Brewing Company, which incorporated rye malts in the production of a rye India Pale Ale that they called, the "Rye of the Tiger IPA."  Puns aside, brewers use rye with a purpose.  The grain provides a grainy, somewhat spicy flavor that contributes to the complexity of a beer. 

This spicy character is what Great Lakes sought to provide to the Rye of the Tiger.  It is all in the label: "[t]his kitty has claws.  Named for its one-two punch of fierce hops and sharp rye content, our Rye of the Tiger Pale Ale is a thrilling ale with bit, handcrafted for the fighter in all of us."  The brewers also describe the beer has being full bodied and loaded with hops, with the rye malt "adding a spicy complexity to every sip."

Great Lakes produces the Rye of the Tiger with four malts and three hops. The brewers use Harrington 2-Row Base Malt, Crystal 45, Biscuit and, of course, Rye malts.  They also use Columbus, Simcoe and Warrior hops. 

The Rye of the Tiger looks like any IPA, pouring an orange color with a light, off-white foam.  The aroma of this beer clearly suggests the hops, and, the contribution of the rye is a little difficult to sense.  There is some rye aroma, along with some grass or grain elements, but the hops clearly predominate.  The hops also prevail in the taste, with a combination of piny and citrusy elements at the forefront.  There is a malty background to the beer, and, in that malt one could get that spicy, grainy flavor from the rye.  The rye is definitely more present in the taste than the aroma.

When  it comes to pairing this beer, the brewers suggest fried chicken, milder blue cheeses and spiced desserts.  I think that this beer could generally be paired like any India Pale Ale, including grilled dishes like grilled steak, turkey or hamburgers.

A six pack of this beer runs about $9.99.  If you are interested in trying a different IPA, then this beer is definitely one to consider.

ENJOY!