Among the many things I love in the world (malaria, goat cheese, my people, kayak trips — you know, the usual), three great things stand out:
1) Great women
2) Great beer
3) Great puns
If you're lucky, you might get to 2/3rds of this greatness equation: beer and puns, women and beer, women and puns...but all three? At the same time? Oh you wouldn't dare.
But the 2015 Seattle Beer Week boldly went there, and how they excelled. Yesterday's sold-out event at Pike Brewing was a fantastic meeting of the minds, mouths, and livers. Plus, I learned about the Seattle chapter of Girls Pint Out and how this group apparently achieves the greatness trifecta. I cannot wait to join in on some of their upcoming activities, such as Pints & Pages.
Numerous breweries provided samples of their finest wares last night, but one really shone among the bountiful beers: Stoup's Citra IPA.Let's talk about this new favorite: as a single IPA that allegedly comes in around 50 IBUs (or says Beer Advocate), this wouldn't necessary seem like a beer for me on paper. Where's my imperial and IBUs by the billion? Well, it turns out this old dog might like some new tricks: the Citra was truly awesome. Just the smell wafting off the taster glass evoked visions of frolicking in grassy fields, happily swilling this brew. The taste was light and refreshing, yet complex and — shocker — intensely citrus-y (which I love). I'd need to try it again to confirm, but this one Beer Advocate review might have the Citra nailed: "This thing is almost pure grapefruit juice! Which I like quite a bit. I wouldn't like all IPAs to be like this, but this beer is a super tasty concoction."
If I could only drink one beer for the rest of my life and the Citra was an option, it'd certainly be a strong contender (particularly since I'm a big fan of strong grapefruit notes for my brewskis). And with the brewery's new outdoor beer garden opening last weekend, it just gets more and more Stoup-idly good.
Cheers,
N
