Forge Brew Works Single Hop Galaxy IPA: Drink Local!

Last weekend’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver brought tons of attention to Virginia breweries, with some great breweries in Virginia bringing home 14 medals, including 4 gold medals, the 4th highest total medal count from any state (behind craft brewing powerhouses California, Colorado, and Oregon). It is great to see some local breweries get the recognition they deserve, because Virginia has some great breweries brewing some solid beers. Some are more well-established than others, like Port City, Devil’s Backbone and Lost Rhino, but Three Brothers Brewing, a newer brewery from Harrisonburg (shout out to JMU!!) also brought home a bronze medal as well. Against this backdrop of the Virginia craft beer scene enters Forge Brew Works. Located in Lorton, VA right off of Fairfax County Parkway, Forge Brew Works opened up their tasting room this weekend to the public, on Saturday for the tasting room and Sunday for growler fills. A couple of weeks ago at the Cap City Oktoberfest I was able to get my first taste of their beers, sampling their Petit Saison and their Single Hop Centennial IPA. Both were really solid, and the reps said they would be opening the tasting room soon, so I was really excited. I stopped by on Sunday and picked up a growler of their IPA, which is a single hop India Pale Ale with Galaxy hops. And it is a crazy good brew.

Appearance– Poured out of a 64 oz. growler into a regular tumbler pint glass, Forge’s IPA poured out a golden yellow with a really nice head, foamy white and thick. It was a little hazy, but it has a really nice brilliant flaxen gold color to it, which was really bright. The head receded over time, with nice lacing along the sides of the cup.

Aroma– Tons of citrusy aromas meet the nose on the first sniff. Galaxy hops are a dual purpose Australian variety, with good bittering and aromatic properties. There is a lot of grapefruit aroma, with almost as much mango aroma, making the tropical citrus aroma very pleasant. Aromatically, this beer is a treat, with an appealing fresh citrusy hop character.

Taste– The citrusy hop character is immediately apparent on the first taste. Hop bitterness is definitely there, but isn’t overwhelming. It has a nice malt backbone, mostly caramel in character, and the maltiness balances out the hoppy bitterness. The bitterness persists throughout, but it isn’t unpleasantly ball-grabbingly bitter. The bitterness acts to accentuate the citrus flavors of the beer. The website describes it as being “balanced with notes of mango and pineapple.” The mango is definitely present, more so than the pineapple. The mango is there in the aroma as well. If I had to describe it, it would have a taste similar to a grapefruit with the seed of a mango, with grapefruit flavors melding with fleshy mango flavors. With this being the first beer hopped with Galaxy I have tasted, I am really looking forward to finding more beers with this tasty hop variety.

Mouthfeel– It is moderately carbonated, which gives it a bubbly, but smooth mouthfeel. There is a slight slick stickiness to the beer, which gets stuck to my mustache, but it does allow for more enjoyment of the hop aromas (and I am only kind of kidding about this. Because the beer smells great). The balance between the bitterness and the citrus flavors and maltiness makes for a really drinkable beer.

Overall Impression– Forge Brew Work’s Single Hop IPA is a really solid beer. From the aroma to the appearance to the taste, it is a really appealing beer. If you are a hophead and love tons of hop flavors, this is a beer for you. Even if you usually don’t drink IPA’s, I can see the tropical citrus being appealing to all sorts of beer drinkers!

These days in the craft brew scene, it seems that IPA’s tend to flood the market, with brewers seeing the successes of West Coast brewers who brewed IPA’s as foils to the light lagers that are mass produced by the likes of Bud, Miller, and Coors. Many bars will have tons of IPA’s on tap, making it overwhelming to choose from the plethora of beers available. Also, West Coast IPA’s tend to focus on in-your-face bitterness, which turns many people off of the style. An IPA like Forge Brew Work’s IPA might get lost among the many other offerings of the style, but if you see it on tap in a local bar or take the time to go visit the brewery, I implore you to try it!!! It’s a really solid beer, focusing on the citrus hop flavors instead of bitterness, and it is really easy drinking. At 7% ABV, it is almost too easy to drink, outside the range of your session beer, but really enjoyable nonetheless.

When I got to Forge, it wasn’t very busy, and I was lucky enough to be able to talk to the owners. According to them, this weekend was a pretty big beer weekend, with a couple of beerfests going on, so next weekend should be way more crowded, so get there early if you are planning on checking them out!! Matt was super nice, and in the time I was able to talk to him, it was clear that he is passionate about his craft. It was a brew day, and they’ve got a really cool Old Ale in the works as a seasonal, so when that comes out everyone should try it (it is going to be a big 11-12% ABV ale, with chocolate malt, treacle, raspberries, and some other stuff that sounds like it’s going to be a really complex and tasty brew!). Hopefully soon, I’ll have another post up about the story of Forge Brew Works, so keep an eye out for that. And in the meantime, check these guys out if you’re in the Northern Virginia Area and support your local brewers!

If you’re looking for more info about the tasting room hours, about their beers, or about Forge, here’s the website: http://www.foregebrewworks.com