The Missus out of the house, daughter asleep and son camping in front of the TV... what's a dad to do?
The guys at De Molen brew beers to my heart: radically on a genre's outskirts sometimes, soberly classy at others, but always fine brews.
Amarillo is their take on an IPA (*), dry-hopped with (du-uh-huh) Amarillo hops. Amarillo is one of those hops that smack of American microbrewing, very aromatic and fragrant, with a grapefruity twang. Recently, Europe has taken up with the fad, often overdoing it by making very citrusy beers, a tendency which not only does a grave disservice to the Amarillo hop, but also to American craft brewery in general.
(*) India Pale Ale. A beer style which has less to with India than with the UK.
Let's take a closer look at this Amarillo beer of theirs then:
Splendid, and everything I hope to see in an IPA of this caliber. For those who are in the know, that's a 31 EBC you're looking at here. For those not in the know: kinda dark for a "pale ale", but that's how I like'em.
The nose is a delight. Of course you get the Amarillo up front, but it's not as much of an "in your face" experience as one would fear. De Molen brew classy beers when they make an effort, and this one is a good example. Beneath the Amarillo, you get a wonderful base of malty booziness, and the head nicely buffers the hoppiness so it doesn't get too overpowering on the nose.
Sip-sip-sippity-sip and the aroma is everything the nose was teasing us about: again there's a solid spot in the limelight for the Amarillo, but you never get that Europeon "CAN YOU TASTE THE GRAPEFRUIT ALRIGHT?" vibe at all. Nor is its presence understated; this is a fine example of what a great hop the Amarillo can be.
It's a relatively sweet beer considering it's supposed to be about hop. That's what I like about a good IPA: a firm, slightly sweetish malt base (I'm guessing the cara malt is doing its work here), with an overlay of hoppiness. Nevertheless, at 60 EBU (**), you can't call this beer sweet without taking a defensive stance. The bittering hops (the ubiquitous saaz and the sladek, which I'm less familiar with) are doing a fine job at making this a non-sweet beer, but at 19° Plato, the bitterness is nicely balanced with the body of the brew.
(**) European Bitterness Unit. Like meters and seconds, only more bitter. For reference, a common pilsner is about 15 to 30 EBU.
Oh and another thing: I'm picking up something of a trend in De Molen beers. This is the second IPA I've had of them (Vuur&Vlam was the other), and both had a remarkable amount of sediment in the bottle after I left them alone for a couple of weeks.
Poured "the proper way" (i.e. leaving the sediment in the bottle, pouring the clear glass you see in the pic above), they are both very nice. But really, the yeast adds such a shitload of mouthfeel to the beer that I'm calling it a shame to pour these beers "properly". They need the yeasty residue to create that smooth, velvet mouthfeel.
I'm tempted to compare this Amarillo to BrewDog's Hardcore IPA. Both are very similar, yet distinctly different. I can't imagine anyone liking one but not the other. BrewDog's IPA is a bit more exuberant, a bit decadent even, as befits the brewery's public image. De Molen again impresses with their brewing savvy-ness, and the delicacy with which this beer presents itself.
Till the next time!
Jo
 |
| This, perhaps? |
The guys at De Molen brew beers to my heart: radically on a genre's outskirts sometimes, soberly classy at others, but always fine brews.
Amarillo is their take on an IPA (*), dry-hopped with (du-uh-huh) Amarillo hops. Amarillo is one of those hops that smack of American microbrewing, very aromatic and fragrant, with a grapefruity twang. Recently, Europe has taken up with the fad, often overdoing it by making very citrusy beers, a tendency which not only does a grave disservice to the Amarillo hop, but also to American craft brewery in general.
(*) India Pale Ale. A beer style which has less to with India than with the UK.
Let's take a closer look at this Amarillo beer of theirs then:
 |
| Glass exclusively restricted to males with a degree in parenthood |
Splendid, and everything I hope to see in an IPA of this caliber. For those who are in the know, that's a 31 EBC you're looking at here. For those not in the know: kinda dark for a "pale ale", but that's how I like'em.
The nose is a delight. Of course you get the Amarillo up front, but it's not as much of an "in your face" experience as one would fear. De Molen brew classy beers when they make an effort, and this one is a good example. Beneath the Amarillo, you get a wonderful base of malty booziness, and the head nicely buffers the hoppiness so it doesn't get too overpowering on the nose.
Sip-sip-sippity-sip and the aroma is everything the nose was teasing us about: again there's a solid spot in the limelight for the Amarillo, but you never get that Europeon "CAN YOU TASTE THE GRAPEFRUIT ALRIGHT?" vibe at all. Nor is its presence understated; this is a fine example of what a great hop the Amarillo can be.
It's a relatively sweet beer considering it's supposed to be about hop. That's what I like about a good IPA: a firm, slightly sweetish malt base (I'm guessing the cara malt is doing its work here), with an overlay of hoppiness. Nevertheless, at 60 EBU (**), you can't call this beer sweet without taking a defensive stance. The bittering hops (the ubiquitous saaz and the sladek, which I'm less familiar with) are doing a fine job at making this a non-sweet beer, but at 19° Plato, the bitterness is nicely balanced with the body of the brew.
(**) European Bitterness Unit. Like meters and seconds, only more bitter. For reference, a common pilsner is about 15 to 30 EBU.
Oh and another thing: I'm picking up something of a trend in De Molen beers. This is the second IPA I've had of them (Vuur&Vlam was the other), and both had a remarkable amount of sediment in the bottle after I left them alone for a couple of weeks.
Poured "the proper way" (i.e. leaving the sediment in the bottle, pouring the clear glass you see in the pic above), they are both very nice. But really, the yeast adds such a shitload of mouthfeel to the beer that I'm calling it a shame to pour these beers "properly". They need the yeasty residue to create that smooth, velvet mouthfeel.
I'm tempted to compare this Amarillo to BrewDog's Hardcore IPA. Both are very similar, yet distinctly different. I can't imagine anyone liking one but not the other. BrewDog's IPA is a bit more exuberant, a bit decadent even, as befits the brewery's public image. De Molen again impresses with their brewing savvy-ness, and the delicacy with which this beer presents itself.
Till the next time!
Jo
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