IPAllooza at SacBrew!

SacBrew will host their first IPAllooza tomorrow, featuring 30 India Pale Ales from across California and beyond. I can already feel my taste buds dance and my liver complain.

For the uninitiated, the IPA is a liquid celebration of the Humulus lupulus, commonly known as the hop. Hops have been used for hundreds of years to preserve beer, but their intense flavor made them a welcome and mandatory addition to the ancient recipe of water, grain and yeast. Dozens of different hop varieties are used based upon their acid content, which imparts different aromas and flavors that can be bitter, sweet, floral, fruity or any combination of the above, depending on the type, the amount used and the skill of the brewer.

The India Pale Ale originated in the British Empire, which added copious amounts of hops and alcohol to reinforce their standard pale ale for the long journey to the troops occupying India. Today, the IPA is unofficially the official beer of the West Coast, with hundreds of different versions brewed each year. Year after year, brewers attempt to out-do each other by packing as many hops as possible into their creations while keeping the beer delicious, resulting in styles such as Imperial IPAs, Double IPAs, Triple IPAs and the paint stripping Quadruple IPAs. Aficionados of such beers have dubbed themselves Hopheads.

Beginning on Wednesday, SacBrew will present some of the best and most famous IPAs in the world, some of which have never been poured in Sacramento (or even in Nor-Cal). Four of these hail from SacBrew’s Brewmaster Peter Hoey and his crew, including one of my favorite Sacramento beers, his Independence Double IPA (which I am enjoying for inspiration as I write this). Another standout brewer of the style is Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing, who has sent us his Pliny the Elder, widely considered to be the flag bearer of the best West Coast IPAs, and his Blind Pig IPA, which was one of the original IPAs to draw the modern brew world’s attention to the style. Firestone Walker’s Double Jack IPA, which world premiered this month, is a stunning example of a mega-IPA that demands sipping instead of quaffing, with layer upon layer of malty sweetness, pungent hops and floral aromas that balances several aggressive flavors into a surprisingly smooth taste. Sierra Nevada will pour their Torpedo IPA, which contains so many hops that they had to invent a special tube to contain them while the beer is shot through it, maximizing saturation and creating a cool namesake. A personal favorite of mine which has never before been served in Sacramento County is Bombay by Boat IPA from Moonlight Brewing Company, Sacramento native Brian Hunt’s one-man operation nestled near the Valley of the Moon in Sonoma County.

To taste these and two dozen other IPAs, find someone to drive you to Sacramento Brewing Company anytime after Noon tomorrow until they run out. I assume that many varieties will still be available this weekend, but there are no guarantees when it comes to beer of this quality! If you come tonight, keep an eye out for members of the Sacramento Hopheads, a fun group of beer lovers who are always looking for new friends with a passion for fine ales and lagers. Tell ’em Stickie sent you.

Sacramento Brewing Company
2713 El Paseo Lane
Sacramento, California 95821
(916) 485-HOPS (4677)