Resonant Constellation

Well, I thought for a while about how to start this blog, and I came to the conclusion that jumping right in would be best, so without further ado, I shall jump right in to what I hope will be a regular feature here, my beer of the month.

Recently I started a new project, something which I do often.  The goal of this project is to come to a more complete understanding and full appreciation of beer as an art form.  I have tried many excellent beers since I made this resolution, including one which I would describe as purely heavenly, but for this review I’ll choose the beer which I’ve had most recently: Dechutes Brewery’s Inversion India Pale Ale.

This beer had me absolutely mystified the first time I tried it.  I couldn’t figure out the flavor throughout the entire bottle.  The next day I tried again, this time fully chilled in a cold glass and the flavor became clear on the first sip: grapefruit.  Overriding the bitterness of the hops is a strident note of grapefruit juice, as if the truck from the brewery collided suddenly and violently with a truck from the grapefruit orchard (do grapefruits grow in orchards?).  Once this paradigm shifting realization took place, the entire beer suddenly became clear, all the flavors slipped into place.  The extreme hoppy goodness was accentuated by a slight hint of citrus and just a tiny bit of caramel.

Aesthetically, this beer smells almost exactly as it tastes, enormous booming grapefruit and very bitter hops.  It pours a beautiful coppery red color with a fine yellow foam on top which fades slowly to nice lacing on top of the beer.  In my experience, this beer was best at a very cold temperature served in a chilled mug (note: not my English Pint glass, not my Chimay glass, my Star Trek: The Experience mug.  Nerds: represent).  This somehow helped to accentuate the flavors.  In some beers, I’ve found a perfect blend of flavors is best, but this is the first where I’ve found it best if all of the flavors are completely separate, to be enjoyed on their own.

So, my final rating, broken down:

Aroma: 7/10

Appearance: 4/5

Flavor: 7/10

Palate: 4/5

Overall Impression: 14/20

TOTAL SCORE: 3.6/5.0

If anybody in Tucson is wondering where they can get this beer, I got this at the incredible alcohol emporium, BevMo.  I must say, a store which is a quarter beer is nearing one of my favorite places on Earth.  They also have whiskey, which is a definite plus.  After I run through the selection of worthy beers at my grocery store (this excludes all versions of Miller, anything with light in the name, and the so-called “Milwaukee’s Best.”  If this is the best they have to offer, I will never go there), I’ll have to start in at the big game over at BevMo.

Well, that seems to be it for today.  Perhaps next time I’ll have a CD review to do.