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Episode 143 - IPA Day 2024
68 Plays3 months ago
This week Brandon and Tony celebrate National IPA Day with three local brewery offerings and one from Austin Texas.
Beers on this episode:
Pipeworks Brewing Company - Drive Thru Meatballs: the Franchise Expands To Idaho
Maplewood Brewery & Distillery - Radio Silence
Jester King Brewery - Wakey Wakey
Hubbard's Cave - Fresh Triple IPA
Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli)
Outro music provided by @FluidMinds
Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com
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Transcript
Introduction and National IPA Day Celebration
00:00:00
Speaker
It's hoppy and it's sweet. And it could also be triggering the other IPAs that we've had. yeah We just, in a matter of like an hour. I'm here motherfuckers.
00:00:13
Speaker
This week, we're celebrating National IPA Day 2024. This is episode 143 of the Molten Young. What's the haps on the hops? Guy eats that speech This the moat now, where we talk about our drink And tell you what we think, every other week And if we get drunk, well we might slur our speech Gotta get a cab, the friends you wish you had Join us for a drink, join us for a laugh Time is never wasted, way you're getting wasted The moat in our here, people, people take your places
00:00:46
Speaker
Welcome to the Malting Hour. I am one of your hosts, Michael. Join always with Brandon winning jerk. Brandon, happy National IPA Day. Happy National IPA Day to you, too, my friend. Now granted, when people are hearing this, it's no longer National IPA Day. But when we're recording it, it is National IPA Day, the first Thursday of every August. I did not know that until today. Really? I mean, there's like, you know, National Beer Day and National Everything Else Day. and Is there a National Pale Ale Day?
00:01:17
Speaker
mean I would ah hope so. we we need We need a producer to look shit up for us. There's a national, ah because I think there's a stout day, right? There's got to be. Yeah. Somebody email us and let us know. We're taking live calls right now. If you know, please give us a call. Call the Malting Hour Hotline. What if this was a live podcast? How terrible would that work for us? Yeah, right. Look at that. See, so maybe there's not because I looked up National Pale Ale Day, and the only thing is, yeah, don't use that coaster. It's going to stick to the bottom of your cup. It just said National IPA Day.
00:01:54
Speaker
We need to ratify that. There needs to be a national paleo all day. Anyways, so I wanted to do an IPA, or like, you know, do another IPA episode.
Challenges in Acquiring Beers
00:02:02
Speaker
It's been a while since we've done one. And I tried getting like all West Coast IPAs, not happening. It was not an option. So Brandon, I think the can's in front of you if you want to tell everybody what we're drinking. Also, I need to start bringing my reading glasses with me.
Tasting 'Drive-through Meatballs' by Pipeworks Brewing
00:02:18
Speaker
we We're drinking drive-through meatballs. the The franchise expands to Idaho. That is the full title of this beer. Yeah. It's from Pipeworks Brewing here in Chicago. Let's see. Idaho packed with super tropical hop aromas of papaya, guava, and tangerine. This is one of our favorite beers in the whole dang series, and we're thrilled to bring it back. Yes, it's the name of the beer. No spaghetti is not included.
00:02:46
Speaker
Um, I've had one of the, I don't know if I've had this one, but I know I've had a drive through. music what if for from pipe What if somebody made a beer with meatballs? That would be, I don't want that. That'd be the worst, the worst decision ever. Should we do that? No, no, absolutely not. and it it's i would It would just be funny if somebody bought this, assuming that there is... There's meatballs on the can. It's supposed to taste like fucking meatballs. What does it taste like marinara when I'm taking a sip? Open it up and it smells like orange juice and papaya. I was expecting either meatballs or fucking potatoes because it says Idaho. I didn't know it was about to hop Idaho 7. What the hell? No, I got this shitty floral stuff in my mouth. I don't want this dump it out. I was having dinner in a can. but Not salty enough.
00:03:34
Speaker
the The artwork on the can is is ridiculous. it's It's very funny. um I take it you've not had any of these before. The drive-through meatballs are, let alone this one. No, I didn't even... Was that a series? I didn't even know. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to look up and see which one I've had. if Hopefully I checked it in, which is a good chance I haven't because I don't really check in beers these days. I have this one. Yeah. had When did I have this? um I have this back in so January 30, 2021. OK. In my old holes logger glass. 2021? Yeah. Well, it's been around that long. I brought it back. Yeah. Oh, actually, so real quick, my review on it
00:04:20
Speaker
at that time, because I already taken a sip, so I already have a different take on it. I said, bit of a hot burn, good, not amazing. Ooh. It was very harsh. I gave it a 3.5 then.
00:04:33
Speaker
Um, what's nice about this, it was actually looks like it was canned on the 24th of July. So yeah, super, super fresh. So it literally a week today. Oh, yeah. Just about. Yeah. Um, right now I am not getting what I said from that original check in, which was hot burn. which is that little bit of like stinginess yeah from the hops and also like just leaves like a weird taste. It is very hot. It's hazy. it's a yeah Yeah. In fact, it is. ah I didn't. I thought I got like lower ABV beers, but apparently I didn't. We do have a triple IPA at some point. tonight What is this? What is this one? It's an imperial double. No, it's the ABV. I know it's eight percent. All right. It's child's play when it comes to this. This show.
00:05:21
Speaker
um What do you think of this, Brandon?
00:05:26
Speaker
um I enjoy it, actually. You wanted to make sure everybody knew that you were drinking it. I am actually sipping it, so it's legit. I like it. I didn't know. What does it say in here? um No, because it says Double India Pale Ale. So I was just you know expecting. I wasn't expecting a hazy. I forgot. um But i actually, I like it. It's the it's a thicker mouthfeel that I kind of enjoy, especially with like these these bigger beers. um And I think Pipeworks does that ah pretty well. I mean, it is super hazy.
00:06:01
Speaker
Um, and the, the hop aroma is fantastic. and It's amazing. Like that was when I cracked it, I wish I would have cracked open the can. on mic because it was like a rush of happy, fruity goodness. And there's some good lacing on my glass. I like that. I'm bringing back those descriptors, too. there's And there's no there there's there is no hot burn. No. It's it's a pleasant aftertaste. This is a good burping beer. Yeah. I took like a big gulp right away, and then I was burping. I keep saying um, too. so That's all right. Great. It's great for a podcast. Listeners who've gotten used to our not posing an episode of verbing, smacking our lips, saying, um. heart ah Our inability to be coherent and talk like we know what we're doing. But it's a wild ride for everybody, including us.
00:06:50
Speaker
I don't want to say it's, it's reminiscent to me of like orange juice. Okay. Without the orange. Like it's, it's got that feeling to me. It feels like I'm drinking, like when I like body feel. Yeah. Yeah. Mouth feel and stuff like that. like It makes my body feel like orange juice. Yeah, it's kind of got that like that feeling. And it almost I'm almost feeling like I'm getting pulp. I know I'm not. There's no a hot particles working here. It's really interesting, actually. um I wasn't expecting that. And then when I went in for this sip again, i'm like I was trying to think of what it reminded me of. him like
00:07:31
Speaker
kind of reminds me of orange juice. Now, because before this, I was drinking the way I had some of the blood cushy. Yes, everybody. It's still on tap. The blood orange cushy. And it's like so similar to that in mouthfeel. Just yeah, like I just it's on the other spectrum of like the hoppiness. You know, that one's like super sweet. Yeah. And this one's super hoppy. So yeah, that's why I was like, why is it so familiar? I'm like, that's that's what it is. So what sticks out or stands out to me I just, I took another sip and kind of swished around my mouth. Like at the very end, it reminds me of when, and this is not a knock at the beer. It's, it's kind of a nice thing. Kind of reminds me, I just noticed, I think I noticed in that last time, you have a full bottle of Crown Royal just sitting there.
00:08:16
Speaker
Yeah, you could blame. I think that's one of my nephews brought it for Christmas along with the absinthe. Well, we got to do an episode with those. It kind of reminds me of, you know, when you're tasting um when your beer is done fermenting, when you're home brewing and you take it like a sip from it, you can still kind of get like that fresh hoppiness from it. Yes. That is not it is like, you're not like, oh, man, I really want that taste. This is like a dull down version. like To me, it just tastes like really fresh. I guess that's kind of what when I'm going with. like That's what it reminds me of. It's really good. um I really like it. Again, I forgot it was like a hazy beer. Sorry, it's not like super ice cold either. We kind of waited to open this one up. um No, but I mean, it's still, it it drinks really well, even being a little warmer than you'd want it to be, but yeah. Yeah, I like this. um i I wish I
00:09:05
Speaker
I'll have to be on the lookout for if they do this
Rating 'Drive-through Meatballs' IPA
00:09:08
Speaker
series like minus, like if they're doing other hops, you know what I mean? Because I did see that there was the other drive-thru meatballs. And I thought maybe that I did, but, or that I had one of the other ones. I guess maybe this one stood out to me at beer on the wall because I've had it before. years ago So if you were going to give this one some meatballs, so I know you checked it in before. I don't yeah i don't know if you looked at what you rated it. I did. I already said what it was. I'd bump it up a little bit. It's like a 3.75 from a 3.8. I really like it.
00:09:37
Speaker
I'm bummed that I let it warm up maybe too much. Probably could have popped in the fridge when I got, ooh. Excuse me. As I'm burping though, I get that nice like hazy IPA burp. Where you can still taste all the fruitiness from the hops. Yeah, like a 3.8. As far as hazy IPAs go. and's good um It's I drink it again. I think I'm kind of missing a little bit of the sweetness that I come to expect from some hazy IPAs. Not to say that this is like bitter, but I really like the mouthfeel on this. So Brandon, how many meatballs are you going to give this?
00:10:10
Speaker
ah i'm i'm in the I'm in the same area. I was thinking around 375, so. Excellent. Yeah, I mean, I enjoyed it. Thanks for for picking that up. It's not one I've had before, so I like that. And I think I think i kind of looked at the other cans. I don't think I've had any of those. i This is the only one, apparently, that I have had. The other ones I have not had. I will also say about this ah beer, the drive-through meatballs, the franchise expands to Idaho. um It's tricky with hazy IPAs because you can never, not never, but I think it's tough to tell when it's a higher ABV and this is one of those. It does not drink like an 8% beer. No. Like it's very easy to drink.
00:10:58
Speaker
Yeah, that's and that's the scary part. um because i but But I'm terrified. But I'm also that's but i'm i'm i'm like looking at the can and thinking about it. like But this is like the perfect pour. If I went into a place and the you know like a 10-ounce pour. Well, because also you mean you're not a huge you're not a huge hazy IPA drinker anyway. No, but I enjoy them when I have them. But 10 ounces, I think, would be my max on this. 16-ounce of this, maybe super ice cold. You know, not super ice cold, but like colder than how we had it. I could probably drink through it just fine. But yeah, it's this is the perfect like split cam between you and I right now. You got to shotgun one of these. Still having shotgun and beer. It'll happen. It's going to happen. Do you want me to grab the next beer? Sure. That means you have to talk now. so Really?
00:11:48
Speaker
I'll be right back. Yeah. So Tony's grabbing the next beer going on in the background because we're celebrating National IPA Day. We're watching the ah Titans and the Bears. There's an apple watermelon in here. Oh, yeah, there is. We're we're watching the Titans and the Bears game ah right before we started recording. Bears scored a touchdown, so that was kind of nice. It's nice to have this in the background. I'm just kind of watching that. And I kind of should have set a timer. to see how long it takes before Tony cracks open the cheese balls. Oh, yeah. We're getting close. I almost did it before we started. Ooh. I'm going to crack. We were at Sam's Club the other day, and I wasn't going to get him, but we walked by him. And Benjamin just stops, and he like taps it. And he's like, are we getting cheese balls? And I was like, what? That's his second Benjamin cheese ball story on this podcast. He's like, I love cheese balls. I'm like, OK.
00:12:41
Speaker
And then, so I grabbed them and Becca's like, oh, are those for the basement? And as soon as we got them, as soon as we got them home, like for, I forgot what we did for dinner that night, but cheese balls. No, but then Benjamin was like, can I, like after, every time after dinner, he's like, can I have a treat? I was like, sure. What do you want? He goes, how about some cheese balls? He's like, all right, man. Man, after my own heart. Oh yeah. So I jumped in. Cheese balls are so good. They're so addicting. Yeah. So, so addicting. And um I was at Costco yesterday, and I'm like i'm glad I didn't see them, because I probably would have grabbed some. I did, however, grab the 35 pack of the Kirkland brand seltzer water, or I'm going to get 10 bucks, man. 35 cans. Can't beat that. Is it flavored seltzer water? Yeah. There's 15 lime, 10 lemon, and 10 grapefruit. OK. So I get through my evenings. Nice.
00:13:35
Speaker
doing the whole let's not drink during the week thing, except for the podcast. Yeah. So far, so good. I was successful earlier this week, and before Wednesday, and and not drinking during the week. so Yeah, I think, well, last week I didn't i didn't drink at all, except for we were out in upper New York for a funeral. We ended up going out to dinner. And we went to a place that was, it literally felt like Hop Leaf out there. Oh really? and It was all Belgian beers and they had like mussels. I gotta go back to Hop Leaf. Yeah, they had like mussels and all this other like yeah really good stuff.
00:14:09
Speaker
You could order like, you know, like brat platters of like different bratwurst and sausages and stuff. But anyways, they had ah they had quack on tap. Oh, nice. My father-in-law couldn't remember if he ever had one. He's like, oh, I think I'm gonna order one. I was like, I'll get one with you. So that's what we had. I haven't had that for many years. What I was going to attempt to do, but we just like we were there. It was such a short trip was um one of the bars out there somewhere like on tap. They had heady topper. Oh. And I was like, if they have it on tap, I'm wondering if like the liquor stores carry it around here. Um, so we were going to go look, but like, I know people like go in droves to buy cases of it from the brewery. So in my head, I'm like, maybe that's where the only place they sell cans. I don't know.
00:14:57
Speaker
Hey, the place you sent me in Philadelphia, the Monks Cafe. Yeah. They had it in cans, man. That's what I had when I was out there. Interesting. About a year ago. Yeah. It was delicious. I had a lot of good beers there. Thank you for that recommendation. So maybe they did have it. I don't know. But we never we never made it. Just time kind of ran out, ran away from us. Because I was like, I'm going to bring some back. That would have been awesome. Yeah. That would have been real nice. It's been a i say it's been a while. It's been a year. like I looked it up. I think the last time I had it was like, I don't know, 2020 or 2021, something like that. I don't remember where I had it. I'd have to look up to check it again. But anyway, we're on to the next beer. Brandon, what are we drinking?
Introduction to Maplewood Brewing's Radio Silence
00:15:35
Speaker
We are drinking Radio Silence, a red IPA from Maplewood Brewing. There we go. Radio Silence. I was trying to remember the name of it. So when I saw, I think I saw when they released this, which I think is pretty
00:15:52
Speaker
recently. And when I went to Beer on the Wall, I was like, oh, great. Yeah, this is very recent. um There's not many check-ins. Seven people have checked it in total. um um I'll read this right now as well as I can without my glasses. Crafted with the timeless combo of Simco and Centennial Hops, which is a great, you know, that's the old school IPA combo right there, which perfectly enhanced the roast and toast of the malt. Expect sticky notes of citrus covered pine with hints of stone fruit and honey slathered toast. With each ship ah ship each sip the silence and let the flavor speak for themselves. Ooh. It is 6.8%. It's a red IPA. I don't remember the last time I've had a red IPA. So that kind of like stuck out to me because I kind of wanted to. Once I realized I couldn't get all West Coast IPAs, there was a black IPA that I almost grabbed too. i shouldn't Sorry. I should have done it. And I'm pretty sure that was illuminated that had a black IPA. So I have to remember that.
00:16:48
Speaker
Um, just because it's on there, this one was canned on the 25th. Wow, I am grabbing the freshies today. This is... This is like for me, one of those best of both worlds situations. That was another great catch by the Chicago Bears. Um, the color of it reminds me of like an amber, an amber ale, but the taste of it is straight up like hoppy IPA. Yep. And the description is 100% spot on. This is delicious. There's.
00:17:20
Speaker
Like, I don't know. This is like really good. This is really good to me. This is hitting everything that I want. Yeah, very well. like presented i when i poured it like it said red ipa and i was like okay i wonder what it's gonna look like and it does look it's got that deep dark amber color um it's got a malty aroma and a slightly hoppy aroma um yeah but i'm getting like a big hit of you know when you drink it you're getting the malt that's what i'm getting and then the ipa is kind of Or the IP the hops are kind of secondary and they're not as strong. I feel like the malt kind of carries this but it's but it's um It's fantastic to me for me. I think it's it's actually like a
00:18:03
Speaker
Balance yeah, there's that word like it is a nice balance of like Because I get what you're saying about the maltiness because that is like the first thing it kind of hits my tongue And then I get like this nice free piney ness. Okay on top of that like it's it's ah such a good yeah, this is great like I Decominate I mean centennial and burr again. Sorry. i'm I'm trying to talk through this and I'm so sorry everybody. That was so gross. Simcoe and Centennial hops are old school hops and they're a great combo. It's a great just straight up IPA combo when hops
00:18:44
Speaker
I was going to say when hops are used. I swear, I had no drinks before I got here. Maybe that's my problem. But a straight up IPA with that hop combo is so good that having it in like a red IPA is so tasty. i can't i Like I said, I don't remember last time I actually had a red IPA. I don't know. What ah like what other like red IPs? I can't think of. Is Unicorn Blood from Pipeworks a red IPA? I'm gonna just do a quick search on like red I think it might be I know when Mike and I were first getting to brewing that was One of the styles that we did I think really early on we call it red riding hood.
00:19:21
Speaker
oh yeah i remember that clever We're so clever. Uh, let's see. Unicorn blood. That is a, oh, it's a red, it's a, oh, unicorn blood's a red ale. It's just an amber, but pipe works makes things hoppy. So Sierra Nevada, have you had flip side? I do not think so. It's a tropical citrus red IPA. I feel like I may have had that before. This is really tasty. Like I want a four pack of this and it's not, and so it's not necessarily
00:19:51
Speaker
It's not necessarily like, excuse me, an IPA that I'm like, oh man, I want an IPA. I want something that's like refreshing and you know hitting all these citrus notes, whatever. This is like an IPA that I'm more like, ooh, I want that specific flavor. I want that specific profile that this beer has, which is that maltiness, a little breadiness, the sweetness, and then the citrus, fruity, pine, all that. like it's It's pretty incredible, man. i am I'm thoroughly impressed. I really like this. And i not that I wouldn't expect anything less from from Maplewood. That was not a complete pass, everybody. Just so you know, going back to what I said originally, the ball did bounce off the ground, so it was not a complete pass. Founders also has one. Who? Them. Redonkulous. I've heard of it. Don't know if I've ever had it. I think I've had that.
00:20:40
Speaker
Oh, that's what it so the pipeworks one imperial blood of the year unicorn. Ah, so I was right. There is one of blood blood one makes sense. I've definitely had that. Yeah, for sure. I've had that as well. Yeah, red IPA is not a popular style. I kind of wish it was like it's got its own category on untapped. Yeah, i wish i wish it was it's I wish it was a more popular style. I feel like it was a more popular style maybe like 10 years ago. yeah IPA craze, still going strong. Regular IPAs for it. Oh, hello, Aggie.
00:21:15
Speaker
You should be napping, little girl. Where are you? I am, I am bummed that I did not grab the black IPA. Now that I'm looking back at how good this is, that would have been a nice follow up, like to have some, well, maybe not a follow up, but maybe towards the end, like a nice roasty black IPA. Another style that I wish, more brewery. and look There was a couple of black IPAs that I saw too. So I feel like some breweries are kind of going back into that. He just wants to be with you, buddy. That's so cute. um Yeah, overall, I think that this is a delicious beer. Brandon, how many radio dials? Fuck. That's what we're here gonna go. How many radio dials are you on this one?
00:22:02
Speaker
I'm gonna go like 4-1, 4-2. Yeah, I'm 4-2. I'm 4-2 under. For the style and what it says it is, man, I'm loving it. I love it a lot. I really like it.
00:22:16
Speaker
Might see if I venture out this weekend and see if I can grab a four-pack of it just to keep on hand to have one on the weekends, man. Just meander over to Maplewood, see if they got it on tap. Fuck, he's right. I should. Yeah, I mean, Maplewood's always cranking out good beers. This is delicious. I really like it a lot. And I hope more breweries, you know, decide to venture out and doing some some red IPAs. Matthew.
00:22:45
Speaker
Yeah, Matthew, I'm sure you guys have done it. When's the last time older rings done a red IPA? Have you guys done a red IPA? Have you done a red rye IPA? Would you like to do a vaulting hour red IPA?
00:22:58
Speaker
You should, Matthew. yeah We're not a band, yeah but we like collaborating. like We'll stop, collaborate, and listen. Yeah, exactly. ah Yeah, overall, fantastic beer. I think it's a good way to start this National IPA Day episode. And I don't know where we're at, but I feel like it's a good time to hear a word from one of our sponsors.
00:23:25
Speaker
And we're back. Welcome back, everybody. it It's National IPA Day as we're recording this. Hope you guys had a great National IPA Day. i Hope you drank a lot of good IPAs. We're still watching the Bears game, and as of right now in the third quarter, they are up 21-17. And the Bears have the ball looking pretty good, even though it's just a Hall of Fame game. And that's OK. It's just nice to see football back.
00:23:49
Speaker
I'm like done dating the game right now. Oh, there's Kayla Williams on the sideline. I'm just watching. I don't care about this episode anymore. All right, we are drinking wakey-wakey from Jester. Sorry, I normally throw it. you know what Brandon, what are we
Exploring Jester King's Wakey-Wakey IPA
00:24:03
Speaker
drinking? I normally throw it to you. I apologize. We are drinking Jester King's wakey-wakey. It's a New Zealand style India pale ale. Oh.
00:24:16
Speaker
Give me that taste. whats Is there a date on there? 625. OK, so it's not that old. Did you take a sip of this already? I did. Did you smell it already, too? I did. OK, I'm going to read the description of it. I have feelings about this. Motuika and Nelson Savan from Garston Farms in southern New Zealand are driving the boat and oh god, you're one hand hard wake from Jesus. Hard wake from going overboard. There's a surfer on the cam. Hard wake from going overboard, but who cares? Just commit to the ride and if you get soaked, so be it. Juicy tropical hop character with a bright citrus undertone makes this an all-day beer
00:24:55
Speaker
Perfect suited perfectly suited for a hot summer day. What do we write this for decompressions? Texas smelt in New Zealand hops. What more can you ask for limey spicy piney tropical haze? All right. I'm glad to actually at 6.7. I'm glad to hear that one particular display me know now spicy Yeah, you know why it was a blind taste test Daniel? Hoppy says on I can see that. I'm not, like when I think New Zealand hops, I'm thinking like juicy. so That's what I thought, like super juicy. Yeah. And maybe because that's what I had in my mind, at first I was like kind of disappointed that the aroma on it's weird. Yeah. What? It didn't have much at first.
00:25:44
Speaker
lime Okay. I get, I get like the citrus lime. There is a spice to it though. Yeah. Like a Cezanne spice. Yeah, I wonder what the yeast was that they used. I don't know. This is weird. Is this what all New England IPAs taste like? You mean New Zealand? Thank you. Fuck! This is what happens when you don't drink during the weekend. I don't even know. like have I didn't know the New Zealand style IPAs were things. Well, New Zealand hops are like the big, juicy, well yes like juice-forward hops. So if this is the style, you know what? People have been using them wrong. I'm going to look on Google Tron 3000 to find out I won't type in England. Let's see. hey It's tend to be on the more sessionable end of the IPA compared to the American IPAs.
00:26:36
Speaker
Okay, a little bitterness. Floral, fruity, tropical stone fruit, sulfur, diesel-like citrusy, or grassy. Hmm. Interesting. um I don't know. I'm not getting, well, because I'm getting lime and now I'm getting kind of another like subtle fruitiness on the back end. Definitely not like, so I don't want to say it's stone fruit. I, this is weird. Oh, good. AI generated this for me. Yeah. Beers that are made with at least some of the New Zealand hops and are more often balanced and less better than American websites. They're usually lighter in color. Good multi-body that complements the hops that can have an ABV of six or less. NZIPAs can have a tropical note with aromas of floral fruity stone fruit with white grape and sulfur diesel-like notes. Other descriptions include citrus, grassy, resinous. Some say NZIPAs are more sessionable than American IPAs and are very pleasant and drinkable.
00:27:32
Speaker
Huh. But this is a 6.7%. Yeah. And who wants sulfur and diesel in their beer? It smells weird. Yeah. I don't like the aroma. No, I don't either.
00:27:46
Speaker
As a session IPA though, taste wise, It's different. I'm not saying it's bad. The aroma is not good. The aroma is not good. No. And if we were ever doing a tasting and you had to taste a beer or smell a beer first and decide if you wanted to taste it, I would say, I'll pass on that. I would say something's wrong with this beer. And I'm not saying that there is something wrong with this beer. It's just my personal preference, my nose at this moment, the way I'm tasting this. I mean, we just came off like a multi citrusy piney red IPA, took a break, like a solid break but before we like normally we don't do that. We actually took a break and hung out for a little bit. Going into this is just kind of like, I don't know, this is weird. And and and it's in tasey as well. The smell, I can't describe it. It is like grassy, but not like,
00:28:46
Speaker
I don't know, not like a good grassy smell. No. And it's not like, I don't know, like the description says, juicy. And I'm not saying juicy. I mean, I get a little bit of that, but it's very subtle. It's like at the end. So somebody checked into this two hours ago. What are they thinking? Beer on the wall in Arlington Heights. okay okay um And they said, clean and unique layered flavor. Pretty damn good. And they had it on tap. Interesting. like or No, they didn't. um It was in a can. OK. But yeah, I mean, it's.
00:29:21
Speaker
It's an interesting beer. it's doesn't yeah I will say this. but You said 6.7, right? I think I said it. Correct. We said it. It kind of drinks a little bit lighter. It's a light body beer. Yeah. I wouldn't have guessed 6.7. Yeah, there's there is a grassy note to it, even in the taste. And then there's, like in the background, some juiciness to it. but it's like You said lime because it was in the description and I think that that's what I can compare that to like a juice of a lime but like not like super super juicy but it's like a hint like a tang not like a bad tang like oh there's something wrong with this beer. I just I don't I don't know if this beer is for me man.
00:30:06
Speaker
Yeah. Um, I probably wouldn't go back to this. I would probably try it if it was on tap. Um, sure. Just to see if there's any kind of difference. Like I would do a taster or something like that. Um, but yeah, like, I don't know. It's, I, I was expecting this to be a lot different. Yes. Um, this drinks like a fucking Cesar, man. Yeah.
00:30:35
Speaker
Which isn't a bad thing, but no it's not not what I was expecting. yeah And again, if somebody said, hey, all New Zealand style IPAs drink like a Cezanne, then I'd say, OK. Yeah. and And maybe that's, I think we're probably going to rate this a little bit more on maybe our ignorance of New Zealand IPAs. So I think that that's fair. So be warned, forewarned that that's how we're going to rate this. Brandon, how many Kiwis, the bird, not the fruit, Kiwis. Kiwis, are you giving this beer? It's funny that you said that because my first thought went to the bird.
00:31:08
Speaker
um
00:31:12
Speaker
Because it's not what I thought it was supposed to be and I'm not necessarily pleased with what it is. It's your first time having this beer and maybe the stuff. I'm going to go like. two nine wow ah three yeah i'm going three i was going three yeah three for sure it's just not if this is the style okay not sure i i'd i'd go back to it this is like the exact representation again jester king made it so this might be Their interpretation of it, which is fine. I think maybe we need to find another New Zealand IPA for another episode and check it out and see how that compares to this, because I think we we will remember this beard. I want to make it a goal.
00:31:58
Speaker
Um, if we do end up at great American beer fest, please send us there, uh, to try to find New Zealand style IPAs. Yeah. Well, the, all the breweries and their beers are listed. I checked today. Uh, there's a lot of, I was explaining it to Mike who makes our theme song. Thank you, Mike. Who's been on the show once. Um, how that all works. He's like, so you just go through and drink whatever you want. I'm like, yeah, dude, look at this one brewery. You see those five beers. I can try all five of those beers. Like that's insane. I go, yeah. Yeah. It's insanely fun, is what that is. And so it's like being able to walk around and try that. I agree. I think i think we'll we'll venture out and try and find New new Zealand IPA. Yeah, that's going to be on my hit list, definitely. Oh, hit list. He's going to shoot that one. Yeah. Interesting. Interesting beer. Not bad. My my my take on it, though, is is three. So I think we're on the same level with this. It'll be interesting to see what
00:32:52
Speaker
Dan, Daniel, hip-ups, would've thought of this, too. Just because... Dan, go get this beer. Yeah, Dan. Even as I'm burping, I'm getting that like grassy spiciness that I would get from a Cezanne, man. Cezanne, yeah. It's just funny because Clark and I failed that blind taste test and said Cezanne for either a paleo or an IPA, which was not a New Zealand beer. We suck. All right, Brandon, talk to the kids. I'm gonna grab our very last beer. All right, so we're moving on to the last beer of the night on this National IPA Day. um I was going to start talking about waiting the different beers, but I want to wait till this last one. I do have a feeling that I know what's going to be in the bottle for probably both Tony and I. Did I tell you that there's a half a watermelon? Yeah. Oh, um and my wife just taxed. Could you bring the watermelon up?
00:33:45
Speaker
Well, because we bought a watermelon at Sam's Club and then... I thought you were a Costco family. I feel betrayed. Oh no! Fumble. I don't know if the bears got it. um so I put Benjamin to bed and she like cut up the watermelon everything and I saw it in the fridge and then she was like oh the other half is in the fridge in the basement I'm like what fridge the beer fridge and then she goes I try to put it in the one behind the bar but that one doesn't have room I'm like no shit let's feel like everything's filled with beer like kegs and beer in there
00:34:20
Speaker
um She's like, yeah, it's in the one in the closet. i'm like And I completely forgot about it. And I didn't realize that she didn't chop it up and like have it in containers. It's literally a half a watermelon. I see all the beers you have from last year still sitting in there. Yeah, we'll do a cleaner. You know what? That's a good enough episode to clean out Brandon's beer fridge, where it's just a random. We won't even rate the beers. We're just going to talk about how much The beers are good or not. Who knows? I'm pretty sure that they just that the bears do not have them all Okay, Brandon what are we drinking we are drinking Hubbard's cave triple IPA Now is there anything other information on there? because Sometimes they have it on the side there 10% hazy Imperial ale fuck brood at Unani brewery
00:35:11
Speaker
birdss triple does Does it mention the hops on there at all? Negative, Ghost Rider. Does it have the date on there? Negative, Ghost Rider. OK. You can continue to call me Ghost Rider, by the way. I appreciate that. um Let's see, last time anybody I know checked this in was June 1st, 2023. I have not checked this in. This is 10%. Didn't know it was a hazy. My apologies, my friend.
Tasting Hubbard's Cave Triple IPA
00:35:39
Speaker
But Hubbard's Cave, okay. I should have cleaned my glass. Yeah. I'm getting that same grassy smell from the other one. A little bit, but I'm um swirling a little bit. Ooh, flavor-wise. Yeah. Absolutely not. Hold on.
00:35:54
Speaker
Okay, there it is. I had to swirl around my glass. It was still on the screen. That's how strong that New Zealand IPA... Oh my god. Holy cow. wo That's good. um Yeah, it's got that nice yellow, orangish, hazy color to it. Nice foamy white, soapy, like soap type head to it. Oh man. Okay, so...
00:36:17
Speaker
What are your first impressions? Everybody just heard me go, whew. Let me tell you why I did that. It's strong. Yeah. That's why I did that. Whew. Have you had this before or no? No. This is drinking like a 10%. Not a bad way. Not a bad way. But it has that whew. If I were like going home or anybody who I would see on the street, uh, if I walked out here and someone walked on me, sir, can you give me directions? Like dude, it's 10 o'clock at night. What are you doing? Ask me for directions. I think you're going to mug me. I'm like, Ooh, have you been drinking? Like I can, that's on my breath for sure.
00:36:52
Speaker
it's uh yeah and i i had ah a tiny burp and there's a little bit of burn actually even drinking it there was ah a slight i felt like a slight burn going down it's burned from the alcohol or a hopper it probably could be the hops because i mean this is hoppy man it's you might be right it's hoppy and it's sweet And it could also be triggering the other IPAs that we've had. yeah We just in a matter of like an hour. I'm here, motherfuckers.
00:37:25
Speaker
Let's do this. What's the time stamp right there? Tell me what the time stamp is right now as we're recording. nine Oh, 37 minutes. OK, perfect, because I think I just found the intro.
00:37:36
Speaker
Well, it's raining in Canton. Oh, man. I feel like we're really plowing through this. We've only been recording for 37 minutes. Yeah. Gee, then no wonder why I feel how I feel. Holy shit. Yeah. um and It could be like this could be you know conjuring up a little bit of the hoppiness that we've already been thinking of. Yeah. These were all 16-ounce cans, varying in ABVs, nothing below 6%. Two sixes, one eight, and now a 10. I'm feeling this. I'm feeling this a lot. um There is a booziness to it. not Not booziness. I shouldn't say that. There is in... Let's see, hold on. Let me get better descriptors. Let me take another sip.
00:38:22
Speaker
There's a juiciness to it, fruitiness, a nice subtle bitterness to it. And then there's like this warming alcohol flavor. Oh my god, they're about to get hit with a terrible storm. This game might be, holy shit. And that kick was no good. Yeah. This game is going to get delayed, possibly just ending, since it's just a Hall of Fame game. They are showing the radar on TV. You guys know what we're talking about, because you already know what happened. Oh, man. um It's really good, though. Yeah. I'll tell you this. Have I had this 16-ounce can by myself?
00:39:01
Speaker
I could easily drink this. but yeah It's dangerous. It's dangerous. I'd be done after the 16th. Oh my god, yeah. You imagine like coming home from work, you haven't had dinner yet. You're like, eh, you know what? Fuck it. I'll have the triple IPA. You get like halfway through it and you're like, this is a bad idea. I've chosen poorly. That's how I lived my single life. Overall, though, I think it's a really tasty beer. I think it's really good. Agreed. in the and And this is, you know, like I'm not blowing smoke up their ass, but like Hubbard's Cave is really good at nailing. You know, a lot of a lot of their beers, even their their adjunct stouts and like um and then their sour program is pretty spot on. And like to the point, it's funny, my father-in-law
00:39:47
Speaker
I don't know. I think I told this story, but like we, um, last time they were in town, um, my wife and I think it was her sister and her mom, they went out shopping. So me and, uh, my father-in-law and Benjamin, I took him to Hubbard's cave and we went ahead and had food there. And he, he really enjoyed it so much so that when we went on our cruise, uh, My wife's parents were kind enough to stay here and watch the cats and take care of the house. And he he made his wife go to Hubbard's cave because he's like, you've got to try that. He sold her on the food. He's said got to try the food. I still have to go. into And he's like, they've got a lobster roll. You've got to have the lobster roll, which is crazy. They have like an amazing. loster Yeah. roll in in the greater shoreline area. Becca's had it, and she loves it. And they still have that. I think it was supposed to be a limited time thing, but they've kept that steak chimichurri thing on there. I've had that like three times. God, I get there. So fantastic. um But he went back and he bought ah ah like an assortment of beers when he was there and brought them back down. He's got a group of guys down in Missouri that he hangs out with. and
00:40:56
Speaker
they do like beer and bourbon nights and um he busted out a bunch of the Hubbard's cave and Unani stuff and he's like the guys were just he's like they're all loving it like that's really great and then when I was at a 70th birthday party I was talking to what like the guy that like runs it that's they they do it excuse me his house And he was saying, oh, man, that Hubbard's case stuff, that was like fantastic. And I was like, are you going to tell me, man? like um So I'm not surprised that it's really well done and that I enjoy it. Yeah, I'm not surprised either. Also, I know that your father-in-law, I think, has said he has no desire to be on the podcast, but I swear to God we're going to get him on here.
00:41:38
Speaker
he doesn't need We don't even need to like interview him. Just be on the side talking talking about some of these beers. Come on, Greg. Have him sit over there and just put a microphone with a long cord. and just heaven No, he can sit here like he normally does. Or not normally does, but like a guest does. And he doesn't have to say anything and be like, Greg, what do you think about this beer? And that's it. um but i'm gonna I'm trying to make it happen. Next time I see him, I'm be like, you need to be on the podcast. okay I don't want to hear any other shit about this. um But yeah, like it like I said, like ah props to Hubbard's Cave. like Hubbard's Cave always hits. um you know Even they're like big pastry stouts that you know I used to like really love just drinking by myself, especially during the pandemic.
00:42:21
Speaker
I've come to a point where I'm like, I can't do that anymore. They're just very sweet and they're delicious. Yeah, so good. But that's like now it's become a 16 ounce beer that I want to split between three people instead of two people. Yeah, like it's just a lot but it's so there's so much flavor. It's so thick. It's so good. um Their all their fresh IPAs are delicious when they do like this single hop things the regular IPAs are good all of the the sours the Everything's great robert wordss gay Agreed, and I'm really bummed that Oh man, that storm is about to hit. That the Jester King beer we did not like because I feel like now it's just all Chicagoland beers. We're like, this is great. Oh man, they cleared the stadium. Everybody's off the field. That is a severe storm heading to the game. They probably moved them all under the absolutely.
00:43:10
Speaker
Because that's what, just for my old security days, okay are they to still playing? No, this is a show of highlights because the the field is empty and everybody's out to understand. Because that's what they that's what we would do at when I did security for the Bears. we would everyone would have to get off like the main levels and go into the back and just kind of like hang out there um mostly if there was gonna if there was a threat of lightning so i'm assuming that's yeah that i mean looking at that se raar life it's go it's about to be a bad but ain't gonna if it's not landing you might have a tornado or something um yeah i what i was saying was that like i'm i'm
00:43:47
Speaker
because now it just feels like, oh, all the Chicago Bears and Chicago Line Bears are great. And they are. They really are. So I'm kind of bummed. So I think we need to find, like you said, a New Zealand IPA at GABF. Or if there's, if anybody else knows of a good New Zealand IPA, shoot us ah a message somewhere. yeah And and i i mean again, this is not a ah knock against Jester King because they are held in high regard. I mean, I've had great Jester King yeah beers. Like ah again, it might just be the style. maybe that's just the I am, I will tell you this. I'm really feeling this beer right now. And i I still drove here, even though I'm not that far away.
00:44:26
Speaker
leaving my car here coming back in the morning. Oh shit, Tevin Hester. Yeah, Hall of Fame now, dude. He made it. He's a part of the Hall of Fame. It's the last time that they were able to have him be nominated, and he made it, and I can't believe it. Wait, why was it the last time? You can only be nominated three times, I believe. Are you serious? Yeah. And it's crazy that it took the third time to get him in there, like the greatest return kicker. but Yeah, kick return with the special teams. Yeah. especially And then he like he did a wide receiver for a while. but Yeah. Special teams. I i mean, Devin Hester is a dude. Remember the Super Bowl? Oh, yeah, dude. Way to start. I mean, we lost it still. Do what I when I saw that return. Shit. I was literally like the first I was like, you know, I get it. I was like, we're going to win this game. Yeah. And we did not win the halftime. Everybody at my apartment was bummed. Oh, man. It was like.
00:45:19
Speaker
I was sitting in a ratty old bowling alley, like, just watching this. And I remember that. I was like, really? I get it. I was, like, really pissed off. i I just got dumped by my girlfriend at the time. And I was like, I didn't want to be there. And I was like, at least the bears are going to win. Fuck! That was a bad Sunday for a lot of people. Yeah, it was it was a great start. And oh, well, is what it is.
Final Ratings and Conclusion
00:45:44
Speaker
Brandon, how many, because bats live in caves, How many bats? How many bats are you giving this beer? I'm going to go four and a half. Ooh, really? Yeah, like four to five, four and a half. I'm giving it a solid four. I'm giving it a solid four. I really like it.
00:46:06
Speaker
Especially for a triple IPA. it is It is very drinkable. This is probably the most dangerous beer we've had all night. Aw, from the tufts like a mother picking that baggie. Becca always tells me, like, don't do that. And I'm like, every time I do it, she's just like putty. She's just like, I love it. It's a great, I mean, with, you know, back legs, that's a great way to do it, man. Gotta get from the tufts and the neck. Yeah, i'm i'm this is a very good beer. I really like it. I'm feeling it a lot. And I'm glad this was the last beer because had we started with this, this would have been bad news for Tony. That's what I said. Like you said, you should we end with this? I'm like, yeah, probably. but now Brandon, that's why I did the show with you. You helped me stay in check. Oh, now we're seeing Hester highlights. There we go. Overall, OK, so we talked about ranking these. Yeah. All right. Let's hear your ranking first. Also, I need to whiz. OK.
00:47:00
Speaker
So everybody um I'm going to go, I'm going to put Hubbard's cave first. I'm going to do, I think I'm going to do meatball second, okay the red IPA third, and then the Jester King last. Right on. I like that rating. I kind of figured that's where you're going to go. I think this is one of the few times you and I are not on the same page. For me, I'm going Maplewood Red IPA first. I loved it. Fantastic. Absolutely delicious. It's a tie between meatballs and the triple IPA, but if I had to choose, I think the triple IPA is Beauty Out Meatballs from Pipeworks. And last, unfortunately, is Jester King. Again, we don't know about this style, and it's the first time we've had
00:47:49
Speaker
ah Straight up, New Zealand IPA. If this is the way it is, fine. If that's not the way it is, hey, we'll let you guys know. Yep. Or you can let us know. Info at themallthingour.com. All the other fucking social media stuff. Send us some, send us a message. We like when we get messages from, from everybody. It's nice. cook good Please. Brandon, I can only say so much to each other. Overall though, great National IPA Day. Fantastic. Good lineup. If they call the game, the Bears win. So that's good, too. We got that going for us. Oh, did they call it? If they do. If they do. That looks like a serious storm that's going to be rolling through. I don't know if they're going to get back to the game. I don't think they're going to push a Hall of Fame game to like midnight. Yeah. That's insane. But overall, fantastic. glad Glad we got to do an IPA episode again. And everybody, thank you for listening, as usual. And Brandon, I love you, buddy. Love you, too, man. And we'll see everybody next week. Bye. Cheers.
00:48:45
Speaker
This has been The Malting Hour. Be sure to follow us on all social media by searching The Malting Hour and at themaltinghour.com. You can also follow us individually on social media. Brandon can be found on Instagram as bmdub81, on Twitter, bdub81, and on Untapped as bdubdrinksbeer. Tony can be found on Instagram and Untapped under Ace of Hope Chicago. On Twitter, The Ace of Hope Chicago. Clark can be found as Clarkowski on all three. Dan can be found on Instagram as hip underscore underscore hops and hip hops on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe, like and rate the show on your preferred podcast listening platform. Until next time, cheers from all of us at The Malting Hour.