Hey guys, Its Monday, time to start the week off right with the Mets taking their opening game and the new Beer of the Week review! Last week was a jam-packed session of awesome which included my first ever beer tasting, the first shoot of my new video project as well as meeting up with an old friend to have a tasty beer. In my very busy week I was fortunate enough to try a bunch of craft beers from different domestic breweries, including Great Lakes, Smuttynose and Flying Bison! All the beers I tried were tasty in their own right, but the Smuttynose IPA was just a cut above the rest, which made it my ultimate choice for Beer of the Week! so let the rating begin!

Last Friday night, a childhood friend of mine came up to Buffalo from Brooklyn NY, to hang out, fortunately for me he stopped to pick up a pack of IPAs for the night. Gabe if you’re reading this, good choice of brews my friend! Now poured out from the cleverly labeled bottle into my pint, the Smuttynose IPA showed a light amber color, with a deep gold shining through in the lamplight and a great white head on top, Good-Looks!

Out of the bottle I got hit with some really nice citrus aromas, mixed up with some floral hops, pine, and a slight fruitiness. My first sip was a sledgehammer swing to the face of pure hoppy goodness, an excellent blend of hops which allowed for some complexity in the flavors, as well as a nice bitterness quality. The other flavors included some nice sweet malts, tart grapefruit, and a slight hint of vanilla on the backend. Sip after sip however, there was a continual lasting floral hoppiness that lingered not only on the palette but enveloped my sinuses for an insane flavor and aroma Beersperience. These flavors and aromas blended together perfectly to balance that full bitterness from the hops with a nice bit of sweetness from the malts, that did well to mask the 6.9% ABV content of the beer. Another thing that I loved about this beer was the great full-body feeling it has to it, a slight creaminess, which is unexpected from an IPA, and reminiscent of a Guinness in that aspect. The body allows for the beer to go down smooth while the lingering bitter flavors and floral aromas in the mouth create a craving for more, sip after sip.

I have to say that this was one of the few craft beers that I’ve had where I actually feel a longing for another one as soon as I finish a bottle, thus I call this IPA, Crack-Beer. The amazing hoppiness is powerful but not overbearing, allowing for the other subtle flavors to come through after each sip. This is a supreme IPA, and sets a standard for others in the Brewing style, Smuttynose came to compete with this one guys. I whole-heartedly recommend this beer, even if you have to go out of the way to a specialty store, please pick one up ASAP! Yes it’s that good.

Overall Rating: 4.8 Sledgehammer swings of Hoppiness out of 5

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plus check out Smuttynose here – http://www.smuttynose.com/

Until next time,

Slainte!