Blind Squirrel Brewery IPA

The Blind Squirrel Brewery India Pale Ale comes in at 7%ABV.  Blind Squirrel describes this as an effort to be something other than a hop bomb.  They describe the flavors as citrusy, piney, and floral.  As you probably know by know I'm a big fan of breweries giving accurate descriptions of their beer.  One thing they failed to mention is that this beer forms a generous head that remains rather persistent.  The head has a creamy texture that would make many English pub ales jealous.  Generally I would attribute this to the yeast but they claim to have used an American Ale yeast which I wouldn't thing would produce a head like this.  This could then be from the two row and caramel malts.  At any rate it gave the beer some character not common to an IPA.  The pine was the predominate scent and the predominate flavor.  In my initial impression, see the YouTube video here,  I quickly compared this to Modus Hoperandi.  The flavor, color, and amount of head produced were very similar.  The Blind Squirrel offering is a bit more subdued than the Ska IPA.  I would certainly also describe this beer as "drinking a pine cone."  Now this may sound a bit intense to some people but you have to remember that this is an IPA and this is North Carolina.  Here we like to brew big, flavorful beers that rival those of the more well known breweries.  This IPA is no exception.  This isn't going to be an IPA for everyone but if you enjoy citrus and pine flavor in your IPA this is an exceptional example of blending these two flavors.  Now if you can allow this to warm just a bit you will quickly find that the piney flavors mellow and become replaced by an entire bouquet of citrus and other floral flavors.  This may be a difficult feat for some as this is an excellent IPA and perhaps my favorite from North Carolina thus far.  I didn't feel like they just threw in as much hops as they could to get an insanely high IBU number, it lists as 65 by the way.  I am a big fan of pine in my IPA but was pleasantly surprised by how it mellowed and became a very complex beer after it warmed just a few degrees.  It really felt like I got two different beers in just one bottle.  So for those of you that are fans of in your face pine flavored IPAs drink this one at fridge temp.  For those of you looking for a more traditional experience with a moderately hoped IPA let it warm a bit and you should find this one to your liking.  If you want more information about the other beers that Blind Squirrel offers head to their website.  If you find yourself in Plumtree the brewery is attached to a lodge, restaurant  and winery.  The menu looks to be standard pub fare including pizza, burgers, sandwiches, and the crow favorite fish and chips.  They seem to have a great selection of Blind Squirrel brews on hand as well.  During summers they are open Wednesday through Saturday.

Frog Level Salamander Slam IPA

Salamander Slam weighs in at 7.0% ABV.  Unfortunately the brewery website doesn't offer any more information about this specific brew.  It pours as expected, a light golden color with a thin but persistent white head.  The nose on this beer departs from a traditional IPA in that in addition to the hops there is a distinct malt aroma.  The malt aroma transitions quite nicely into a light and smooth taste.  At first this beer has a deceptively smooth and mild flavor.  The hops flavors then come on slowly but strongly.  This progression of flavors is the most striking aspect of this otherwise standard IPA.  You can see my reaction in the YouTube video.  The hops flavor will be familiar to regular IPA drinkers.  This beer boils down to being a rather text book IPA.  While the extra malt character and slowly developing hops character in the flavor give this beer a bit of personality it just fails to be much more than an excellent IPA.  Now the great thing about this beer is that Frog Level packages many of their beers in these wonderful half growler bottles.  This gives you about 3 glasses of beer which is more than enough to share with friends.  Since Spring is trying to arrive here in North Carolina finding a good beer to sit out on the porch and enjoy with some friends is important and this is certainly a candidate.  The hops flavor is not so overpowering that it's going to keep you from enjoying this beer with food or enjoying another beer after this one.  Just because it isn't a stand out IPA doesn't mean it is a bad beer.  If you are a fan of IPAs, and really if you are reading this you probably are, you should certainly try this one just because of the nice malty start.  If IPAs aren't your thing you can probably skip this one.  Since this is an IPA you probably shouldn't try to introduce your lager drinking friends to craft beer with this one.  Some of the flavor may be due to the yeast that they use.  As of this writing the Frog Level website lists what I hope is a British Cream Ale which they seem to be calling Lilly's Cream Boy.  That may be an interesting brew.  Based on how the hops work in their IPA I'd also like to see them tackle a Kolsch style beer.  I would certainly stop by the brewery if you find yourself in Waynesville, NC.  For more information about what's currently on tap at Frog Level check out their website.  As always keep enjoying North Carolina beer.

Cheers!