Are you a self-professed hophead? Are the IBUs just as important to you as the ABV? Do you love beers so bitter that your taste buds sting with protest? So tart that your tongue twists in knots as soon as you take the first sip? If so, read on!
Beer Details: Ranger India Pale Ale from New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, Colorado. (70 IBUs, 6.5% ABV)
Appearance: Crystal clear and a burnished dark gold color with a nice sticky head of lemony foam.
Aroma: There's no doubt that this is a hop-tastic beer! The aroma is pure hop flower with layers of potpourri spiciness, hemp, and toasty malts.
Taste: This IPA is a parade of all the flavors we love in a hoppy beer: lemon citrus and orange blossom, grapefruit and pine resin, tart apricot and unripe peach. Talk about a tongue-bruiser! Rather than muddling together, each flavor stands out individually. Biscuit malts peek through every now and again for a hint of sweetness.
It's medium-bodied and very smooth - it would almost be creamy if it weren't for the prickly sensation from the hops. There's a lingering citrus pith flavor after each sip, but otherwise, the beer finishes crisp and clean.
Having said this, personally, I felt this IPA was lacking something. I love a bitter hoppy brew, but I also like a nice malty backbone to balance out all those bright flavors. This beer felt like all hop attack with nothing underneath to hold it up. Some of you might love this about it, though, so definitely try it for yourselves!
Food Pairings: With all its perky citrus flavors, this IPA would be ideal for an afternoon cookout. It's flavors are bold enough to stand up to the strong flavors of grilled foods, sharp cheeses, and barbecue sauce.
Have you tried this beer? What did you think of it?
Related: Quick and Dirty Guide to Lager Beers
(Image: Emma Christensen)
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This is one of my favorite brews! It is definitely quite hoppy, but if you're into hops, this beer has a real depth of hop flavor that isn't present in most beers that are as widely available as this one. Incredibly clean, herb and citrus finish. I'd highly recommend it to any hop-lovers out there.
This beer is very meh, definitely better on tap than out of the bottle. They should stick to sours, La Folie and Eric's Ale are quite good, as is the Tart Lychee.
A clean, simple IPA. Almost too simple. With so many delicious alternatives ("Racer 5" from Bear Republic Brewing is a recently discovered standout), your IPA-sippin' time is better spent elsewhere.
As with many New Belgium beers, this one seems to me to be a "dumbed down" version of a great microbrew. So, at the end, it's a good microbrew that's very drinkable.
None of their stuff blows me away.
I got this in their "folly pack" and gave it a whirl. it was indeed very hoppy. once I got over the hoppiness I realized there was nothing else to finish it and I was sorely disappointed. we love the rest of the new belgium line, favoring fat tire the most, but this one might be a pass for me. I suggest trying their other run, the mighty arrow which has a better finish.
I really like New Belgiums Two Below. I get so excited when it rolls out in late fall. I have not tasted this kind, though. I live in Portland, OR so I have no shortage of amazing summer beers to indulge in.
I really expected something else from this beer. I am a hop head in that I am certainly going to try the hoppiest beer in the lineup at a bar but I wasn't too sure about the way things were going in the world of IBU-heavy beers. It seemed all of the microbreweries were trying to overload the hops with later and longer wert introductions which goes along with the logic of if a little is good then a lot must be better. Like I said I was willing to try the latest offsprings of such thinking but I had my doubts as to where it was going, there had to be diminishing returns at some point; and so I expected Ranger to be heading in the same direction of excess. Well, it wasn't. It seems that the folks at New Belgium have restrained themselves somewhat, probably because they know what their doing and don't fall prey to fads and peer pressure. They will only make something that is well balance, unique yet traditionally balanced. This beer is missing something. I haven't thought of it yet but I will. There is something missing in the finish that I will realize at some point, the trouble is that after two beers I don't care to think anymore about it. It certainly has everything upfront that hopheads love, like the citrusy notes and pine pitch bitterness so you will not be disappointed.