Beer of the Week: Extended Getaway

From the Beer Writer: When a company releases West Coast IPAs with the constant, seasonal frequency that Pizza Port Brewing does, it’s easy to start taking them for granted. Many are the breweries that cook up a base IPA recipe then simply switch up hops they use, often with wildly varying degrees of success. But not the hop mavens at Pizza Port. They know their varietals and consistently craft single-strength IPAs that are not only world-class in their extreme drinkability, but convey unique flavors and aromas care of hop bills that include everything from classic C varietals to flavor-of-the-month types to experimental upstarts to the obscure or just plain forgotten. While this week’s featured beer, Extended Getaway IPA, will garner a great deal of attention for featuring two popular New Zealand hops—Nelson Sauvin and Motueka—it’s the versatile fill-in quality of a rarely discussed hop that lives in the shadows of growers’ cold boxes which deserves some serious credit. Crystal, a hop that could be mistaken for a type of malt in a brewing conversation, is a lovely varietal that, like well-known all-in-one wonders Mosaic and Strata, offers a wealth of green, woody, spicy, citrusy characteristics that could be enough all on their own. But left to round out this already exceptional IPA, those notes add delightful depth. Extended Getaway smells of peach and mango with a touch of passionfruit and gooseberry, conveying those flavors on the taste buds along with some tangerine, pineapple and guava. It’s an ideal beer for enjoying while enjoying an…you see where I’m going with this, right?

From the Brewer: “For Extended Getaway, we tapped into a favorite hop-combo of New Zealand hops balanced with U.S. Crystal hops. We all love the unique aromas and flavors of New Zealand hops, especially Nelson and Motueka, but they can be a little strong or are too distinct for some. We found Crystal hops to be an excellent foil for them. Crystal is an underappreciated American hop. It would probably be considered an old-school hop. Crystal is a softer, well-rounded hop, with a nice, subtle blend of floral, citrus, grassy and pine notes plus low-range bitterness. The result of using the different hops is a unique but familiar drinkable IPA.”—Sean Farrell, Director of Brewing, Pizza Port Brewing