From Squamish BC’s Howe Sound Brewing comes the “Ascension Triple IPA”. The beer pours a cloudy deep orange with an off white head. The aroma consists of melon, tropical fruits, candy sugar, floral hops and alcohol. The flavour is of melon, tropical fruits, mango, candy sugar, honey, pine, resin, bitterness and alcohol. The alcohol content comes in at 11% with an IBU of 70. For the ABV this stuff is ridiculously drinkable. I recommend picking up at least a bottle of this.
From Twin Sails Brewing in Port Moody in collaboration with Parallel 49 Brewing comes their latest limited release the “How ‘Bout That Triple IPA” with Mosaic Citra & Simcoe. The beer pours a mildly cloudy orange with a white head that leaves some lacing. The aroma consists of citrus, tropical fruit and floral hops. The flavour is of pineapple, tropical melons, citrus and an overall juicy fruit flavour with citrus rind, caramel, resin, mild earth and bitterness. This does have some alcohol burn but nothing like its 11% ABV and event with 60 IBU it is not overly bitter. This stuff is excellent and I hope that it comes back again and again.
Commercial Description: Triple IPA with Mosaic, Citra, and Simcoe hops.
From Six Corners Brew Works in Okotoks Alberta comes their “Triple Summit IPA” a Triple IPA. The beer pours a cloudy golden colour with an off white head. The aroma consists of floral hops, fruit with a mild sweetness. The flavour is of sweet tropical fruits, melon, citrus, resin, pine, bitterness and alcohol. The alcohol content comes in at 10.3%. This is a great style although undeserved and this is a great example of it.
Commercial Description: Not for the faint of heart, this powerful, bright burst of hoppy goodness is like an uppercut to the taste buds.
From Squamish, BC’s Howe Sound Brewing comes the Ascension Triple IPA.
This beer pours a nice dark honey brown, very clear with very obvious carbonation. The head is a solid light tan, with fine bubbles and good staying power.
The nose is a blizzard of tropical notes with mango, pineapple, papaya and apple are all readily noticeable. There are undertones of fresh cedar needles and an evergreen forest after a rainstorm.
The flavours start off surprisingly sweet, mirroring the tropical aromas on the nose. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth, which at 11% ABV makes this a dangerously easy drinker. There are some bitter notes but they are fairly subdued. The finish is very long, fading from tropical to bitter. The bitter lingers a little past it’s welcome but another sip takes care of that.
From Victoria BC’s Driftwood Brewing comes the “Old Cellar Dweller Barleywine Style Ale 2015″ a beer that is no longer a barleywine. The beer pours a deep orange colour with an off white head. The aroma consists of orange, other citrus fruits, caramel and floral hops. The flavour is of orange and other citrus, candied sugar, toffee, resin, bitterness and alcohol. This beer comes in at 11.4% alcohol. For a barleywine this beer is completely off style but as a Triple IPA it is quite good. I think it is time to change the style in the name.
Commercial Description: Three times the malt bill and five times the hops of a normal strength beer, this Barleywine tests the limits of our brewhouse and our backs! But the real struggle is in getting this massive brew to completely ferment, a true test of our skill and the vigor of our yeast. Consisting of 98% Pale Malt (with a bag of CaraMunch thrown in for color) and just one hop variety, Columbus, this beer showcases these two basic ingredients in their most concentrated state. Enjoy this very special beer young, but save a few bottles for future winters. Enjoy not too cold, say about 13C! Barleywine will age indefinitely, like wine; thus the name.
Food paring as per brewery: Rouquefort, Gorgonzola, and washed-rind cheeses like Oka or Port de Salut. Dried fruits, and sweet nuts such as Brazils.
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