In honor of International IPA Day, we put together Matt’s recommendations for finishing the summer out right before the Octoberfests & Pumpkin beers hit the shelves (a bit too prematurely in our opinion) plus answering a very tough question. Started in 2011, IPA Day was created to connect hop loving breweries and craft beer enthusiasts alike. And to give us all a random beer holiday to celebrate!
Five Beers to Wrap Up Summer
PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon)
Some people get down on the Blue Ribbon, but we choose to accept this brew for what it is and find PBR to be a good rehydrating beer for the last hot days of summer. If you’re not a hipster drinking PBR to be ironic and find this a little low brow for your craft brew palate, give the ‘Gansett, New England’s oldest beer a try.
Harpoon IPA
Hands down a great IPA that is not too hoppy, feels good in your mouth and takes the cake as our favorite New England style IPA.
Long Trail Farmhouse Ale American IPA
We’ve been drinking lots of Long Trail this summer thanks to a stellar Market Basket haul. Long Trail always delivers, and this solid, refreshing beer is no different. Their seasonal summer has been on a strong rotation as well.
New Belgium Trippel Belgian Style Ale
This flavorful, higher octane beers is one of Matt’s favorites. Since we have to “import” all our New Belgium beers from Ohio (the edge of the brewery’s distribution reach) it is a novelty that we ration to enjoy our stash as long as possible.
Wachusett Green Monsta IPA
A great go to beer year round but especially in the summer, plus we dig the name. We don’t discriminate against any beers obviously, but like to drink local craft beer when we can!
Only One Beer?
I challenged Matt to come up with the one beer he would drink if in some cosmic catastrophe he could only have one beer for the rest of his life. After recovering from the sadness of imagining such a world, it is very fitting then, today when we celebrate all things IPA, he came back with Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Though a continuously hopped beer (60 hop additions in 60 minutes – thus the name) this beer has a nice bite of hops that isn’t over powering and is balanced with some toasty maltiness resulting in an enjoyable session brew.
A bit of a hophead & want to step it up a notch? Try the 90 Minute and 120 Minute IPAs offered by Dogfish Head. You can thank us later!
May the last days of summer be tasty!
(want your beer to look as good as it tastes?)
