Blatant Brewery is a relative newcomer to the Massachusetts beer scene.
As readers know, I love IPAs. So living at this particular time has been very good, indeed.
I'll be writing about the upcoming IPA week at the Northampton Brewery in the next week or so, but today I want to focus on one of the better examples of the style I've had in some time: Blatant Brewery IPA.
Blatant Brewery is a relative newcomer to the Massachusetts beer scene.
Founded by Matthew Steinberg, the beers currently are brewed at Buzzards Bay Brewing in Westport, Mass., but rumors are that the company will be finding a permanent home in Western Massachusetts soon.
That's good news for beer fans, as this IPA is wonderful.
Before I get to the beer, let me tell those who don't know that Steinberg has been brewing craft beer for 15 years, including those at Offshore Ale Company on Martha’s Vineyard and Mayflower Brewing Company. His beers have won medals at the Great International Beer Festival and the Great British Beer Festival.
Now on to the beer. While there are a lot of so-called "West Coast IPAs" out there, it seems that sub-style has gotten slightly away from its citrus-based flavor profile. Although most still feature a citrus-like hoppiness, what they lack is that truly pungent grapefruit smack. Blatant IPA brings it back with force.
The brew pours a slightly cloudy white gold hue with a small, dissipating head. But it's the aroma, not the appearance, that really trumpets the pleasures to come. As you bring the glass to your nose, a circus of citrus notes dance their way into your olfactory sense. There is some pine in there, too, but mostly clean and eye-watering grapefruit aspects. There are some bread-like malt touches in the smell, but mostly the citrus dominates.
The first sips follow suit: huge grapefruit notes, escorted by some malty biscuit flavors. (I say "escorted" because in this case, I can't really say "balanced"—which is fine with me.) This is a bitter citrus fest, so if you like this kind of beer as much as I do, you're in for a real treat.
The beer finishes fairly clean for such a hoppy brew. Not as crisp as, say, a lager, of course, bit fairly dry and clean. The body is medium and the beer has the wonderful stickiness that accompany my favorite IPAs.
It also comes in at a relatively modest (considering how hoppy it is) 6.5 percent, alcohol by volume. While it's not a session brew, I can envision have several.
In fact, I know I will.