beer blah blog

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This is a glorious beer by a glorious company. Their Ruination and IPA have long been two of my favorite hop creations. On September 9, 2006 they will be celebrating their 10th anniversary with a big bash at their Escondido brewery - information available here. The lineup of brewers reads of a who's-who in American beer. The missus and I will be in attendance!

The beer they made to commemorate this grand occasion is an enormous hop monster. The bottle is beautiful, complete with a story on the side – all painted on. It pours a ruby-orange with a frothing eggshell head. The aroma is a floral bouquet hop assault. All of the hops of the rainbow are present: from sweet to pine to everything in between. There’s a lot of fruit on the palate – some lemon, some pineapple and lots of grapefruit. All of the taste soaked in hops with a tinge of maltiness. The creamy texture smoothes out the alcohol warmth. Delicious. I’ll have to stock up on these.