Nora McGunnigle

Bought this at Cork & Barrel a couple months ago, I think during American Craft Beer Week. Finally cracked it open tonight after a few cask ales at the Avenue Pub, while listening to TMBG's Flood. I was very unsure what to expect with a coffee IPA. Not really the style you expect to go with a coffee infusion, and I was intrigued. It was a tasty and interesting IPA. Poured a pale orange with a nice head- a few fingers' worth. I did not get any coffee flavor really, though. The finish had that tannic, acidic coffee aftertaste, but no actual coffee flavor. Odd. But I don't want to complain, because the Tomahawk hops gave the beer an excellent piney, citrus, pineapple aroma and bitterness. The specific bitterness of these hops added to the coffee-esque overall impression of the taste. It was good, but I don't know if I'd ever attribute coffee to it as a flavor or overtone. I mean, read the above- I'm REALLY stretching to give it any coffee relevance. Like...

As part of American Craft Beer Week, Jeremy aka Beer Buddha of Cork & Barrel hosted a beer tasting which featured some new beers on the New Orleans scene. Squatters Brewery is in Salt Lake City and Cork & Barrel had several beers on hand to sample. The first beer we tried was actually not from Squatters, but was from a partner brewery in Salt Lake City. It was a blond ale in a teeny tiny bottles (7 oz) called Little Slammers brewed and bottled by Wasatch . It was your pretty standard golden/blonde ale, nice refreshing cold beer on hot day. And you can like carry it in your pocket! Moving on: Hells Keep, a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. This was very drinkable with Belgian yeast flavors and fruit/spice notes. Not hoppy, most of the flavor came from the yeast characteristics. Easy drinking. The Hells Keep is one of Squatters' Reserve Series beers, as is the next one we tried, the Outer Darkness, a Russian Imperial Stout. Ooh, tasty. A bit lighter mouthfeel and flavor ...