Beer of the Week: Blissed

From the Beer Writer: In the brewing industry, there is no annual competition bigger or more prestigious than the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). And of the 97 beer-style categories comprising that contest, there has been none so highly contested over the past few years as “Hazy or Juicy India Pale Ale”. At the 2021 GABF, 427 New England-style IPAs (NEIPA) vied for supremacy (the average number of entries per category was 99.6), and two locally produced brews medaled. One of those is this week’s featured beer, Blissed. A hazy from Barrio Logan-based Attitude Brewing, its soft and flavorful up front with citrus and tropical-fruit notes from a hop bill containing numerous heavy-hitter varietals. Those taste sensations are followed by an equally low-impact, dry finish. In other words, exactly what a GABF judge is looking for when scoring NEIPAs. It’s no wonder Blissed brought home a bronze. (For those who are curious, the other local operation that medaled was North Park Beer Co. with its silver-winning Art is Hard).

From the Brewery: “Our Blissed took the bronze medal in most contested category of 2021 Great American Beer Festival, Hazy or Juicy India Pale Ale. I developed this recipe with my hometown friends from Koala San Brew in Brazil. German Pilsner, oat and wheat malts make for the perfect pillowy base for the staggering hopping rate of eight-pounds-per-barrel, featuring Strata, Simcoe Simcoe Cryo, Mosaic, Mosaic Cryo and Idaho 7. the result is this beautiful, straw pale beer exploding with resinous, dank and tropical flavors, with passionfruit, pine and mild grassy notes in the back.”—Álvaro Mafra, Head Brewer, Attitude Brewing