Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie
will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it:
How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find
it? But mostly, it's all about the love of the brew. If you have a beer
you'd like featured in Beer of the Week, let us know via a comment.
Please, God, no more green beer.
After a wild St. Patrick's Day party at Ye Olde Falcon Pub in Davie last night, I'm pretty much seeing green. Not that I drank the green beer doused in food coloring, or anything. Why would I, when all it does is remind you not to drink Bud Light? Oh, and make you pee green. That too.
For a real green beer -- a beer so full of emerald hops that it's
practically resinous -- I'd much rather turn to something like Weyerbacher's Doubel Simcoe IPA.
Weyerbacher's ode to hopheads, this double IPA uses only Simcoe hops
(Simcoe! All new, from Sim Co.!) for a smooth, floral, piney taste. The
oils and alpha acids (the bittering agent in hops) in this particular
strain are so heavy duty that they give the beer a slick, coating mouth
feel. As a result it's a slow sipper -- not a guzzler like those other
green beers.
The flavors of Simcoe are similar to other big IPAs, but also
incredibly smooth. The hops and the malt both favor the sweet side,
with candy and citrus notes jumping out to the forefront. But there's
enough bitter backbone to lend great balance. At 9 percent alcohol, you
don't want to let the balance fool you and go crazy on them. Otherwise,
you may be seeing leprechauns after all.
Find Double Simcoe at BX Beer Depot and Total Wine.
