by Rajan | January 14th, 2010
Without looking back too closely at 2009, it marked the year where my beer tastes changed, moving from strong, dark stouts and porters to strong IPAs instead. Prior to last year I had never really considered myself a huge fan of the IPA, but I also hadn’t done much exploration in the category. That changed last year.
I enjoyed a number of Imperial or Double IPAs last year, some of which I’ve mentioned here already (like the Otter Creek), but I neglected to mention two specimens that I discovered toward the end of last year.
The first of these was Avery’s duganA IPA. I’m already a fan of Avery’s Maharaja Imp. IPA. duganA checks in with a little less alcohol and a little less bitterness. It still has the same resiny, hoppy, floral, malty aroma and taste combination, but is a little easier to drink. The duganA seems to lean more in the bitter direction than the Maharaja (which seems to me to be a bit sweeter), but it’s a nice new standby to keep around for when the mood strikes.
The other was Smuttynose’s Big A IPA. This was probably one of my top discoveries from last year. I first had it at Rattle N Hum on a whim. Same big Imperial IPA flavors, but crisp and creamy and with a remarkable light quality that distinguishes it from other Imp. IPAs that can be heavy.
Speaking of Smuttynose, they are being featured tonight at one of my favorite places, Barcade. They are supposed to have oak-aged Big A IPA on tap as well as their wheatwine which I also plan to try.
More on that to come.