365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
Day #684 Fresh Hop Pale Ale/ Great Divide Brewing Company, Denver, CO
Previously from this brewery: My look at Titan IPAand a Colette
The best part thing about TJ's in Paoli, PA? Sure, the beer list is outstanding and the food is great, but most importantly: I can convince my co-workers to go there and complain about work. Win-win for everyone. People get to vent, I get delicious beer on my way home from work. Can't argue with that.
The beer for today is a Fresh Hop Pale Ale from Great Divide in Colorado. It pours with a bright copper color, and a light aroma of pine and citrus, with some bready malt as well. The taste is a mellow mixture of resinous pine, lemon peel, and biscuits with a dash of tea in there as well. Good bit of bitterness on the finish to close things out. Really nice beer, particularly for when you want some hops but don't want to be beaten over the head by them.
Death from above
This is a seasonal release, so if you see it, drink one.
Thing to Think About Today:
Something quiet for the evening shift. AC Newman and the slow and serious Come Crash.
I'm testing out this new blog app and so far, so good. Today's beer: Great Divide Colette. It's a Saison that pours with just a slight haze and a thick white head. There's just a hint of earthy funk in the nose. The taste is fruity citrus, hops and spice. There's also some pepper. Overall quite good.
Well past one third of the way done with this 'beer from a different craft brewery every day for a year' project. A lot of great beers and breweries down, many still to come. Today is the Blue White game, the Penn State spring football scrimmage open to the public. This is significant because it's the first "game" without Joe Paterno since the 60's, but more importantly it's the first chance to tailgate since last November. For reasons I can't necessarily explain well, I love tailgating. Something about a giant outdoor party with some of your closest friends brings great joy to my heart. I don't do many things well in life, but I do tailgate like a champion. Hopefully today's effort kicks off a good summer of tailgates.
Really, you can't talk about tailgating without talking about beer. Some good craft brews (and yes, a few macro brews) in the cooler ready for the day. With beer in mind, today's beer is the Titan IPA from Great Divide, another great Colorado brewery. This one came on draft at TJ's, as they continue to rotate some really interesting options on their taps. In the glass, this IPA shows off a copper color with a foamy white head. The aroma gives off pine and citrus, and there is a solid hop bitterness here, with floral, citrus notes culminating in a dry, clean finish. The citrus isn't overpowering here, there's an earthiness here that is more prevalent that other IPAs. Don't get me wrong; this isn't a bad thing. This beer is definitely worth your effort and deserves a try if you find it near you. Great Divide labels this beer as "assertive" and "aromatic." Correct on both counts.
If you squint, it looks like a beer.
Thing to Think About Today:
Weather forecast for today's Penn State Blue-White spring practice game is rain. Quite frankly, this causes significant problems to someone who dreams of tailgating. Which I do. Figures that we've had summer-like weather all week, so once Saturday comes we get rain. Tailgating in the rain isn't impossible, but it does cause some logistical issues. So, Blind Melon, let them all know what we think today:
