Mystery IPA ??'s

[1977Brewer]

Several months ago, before I embarked on my HB journey, I was at a good friends 40th birthday. The circles I run in include multiple beer nerds. Like Dungeon Master level beer nerds. The head nerd brought a HUGE variety of very sought after beers for us to sample. Lagunitas Sucks & Brown Shugga, DFH 120, Pliny, Jai Alai, 2 Hearted...on and on. He's big on IPA. Many samples poured, many 12 oz. party beers poured...some bourbon I think.

Anyway. There was a beer. The beer. One that I have reminisced about since. I know it wasn't Sucks, may have been 2 hearted or Jai Alai, but it has floral and tropical notes out the nose. I was literally take aback by the floral aroma and flavor in this beer,so much that I got pretty vocal about hops being a flower and my lovely wife had to remind me that I was drinking with church folk.

Can anyone help me remember which one it was? I was in a drunken stupor and the host can't remember either...and I only see the head nerd at church anymore, not the best place to tell someone I was too drunk to remember what I drank.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Yeah, you're not giving us a lot to go on, here...

 

[1977Brewer]

I don't have a lot to go on. That's the problem. It literally tasted like flowers, but we were drinking a ton of hop bombs. I brought 4 bombers of Ruination, we had just polished off one of those.

 

[unionrdr]

That's a tough one for me too. And I like hoppy, just killed a Harpoon IPA 12 pack sampler last week. I'd say it had to have some other hops besides grapefruity ones in it. Dang I wish I could remember, I think I had one like that. But, as we used to say, if you remember it clearly, you weren't there...

 

[LandoLincoln]

2 Hearted is really big on Centennial hops. Brew a SMaSH beer with Centennial and see if that was what you tasted.

 

[1977Brewer]

2 Hearted is really big on Centennial hops. Brew a SMaSH beer with Centennial and see if that was what you tasted.

I plan on it.

It has fish on it, right? I think that was it. (mild sarcsm, I know what 2 Hearted looks like) The only way I'll ever know is to make it myself.

 

[btbnl]

Sounds more like a west coast IPA than 2-hearted.

 

[olotti]

Why can't you ask the guy. Or don't you think he'll remember. I've had both two hearted and Jai lai and jai lai to me was more citrus and tropical than flowery, two hearted has some of that floral character from the centennial hops.

 

[beergolf]

My guess is Two Hearted. Very flowery and a lot of citrus.

And yes they have a fish on the label. It is named after a famous trout river in Michigan. Hemmingeay mentioned in one of his books. The Two Hearted river.

 

[brettg20]

Either Pliny or Jai Alai if you ask me. 2 Hearted isn't as floral as those two IMO and I've had a lot of each

 

[alaskana]

Hard to say exactly which one as a lot of IPA's have that flavor profile but it sounds similar to Bells Two Hearted out of Michigan. That IPA is bursting with flowery hop aroma and that same hop punch carries into the flavor. One of my favorite ales.

 

[1977Brewer]

I was able to ask. It was 2 Hearted. Good thing, I was about to buy a lb. of Centennial anyway.

 

[RmikeVT]

I would think Pliny or Jai Lai (sp?) Jamil Z has a recipe in Brewing Classic Styles that is a clone of Pliny The Elder -- I've brewed it and it was badass and really impressed some of my beer nerd friends. They didn't believe I brewed it and we drank side by side with Pliny and one guy thought it was better than pliny.