Beer of the Week: Tangible

From the Beer Writer: Fruited IPAs hit the height of their popularity in the mid-aughts. Almost overnight, Southern California brewers who had boasted about the bitterness of their West Coast IPAs were trading IBUs (international bittering units) for citrus zest and all-natural fruit purées. The best fruited IPAs didn’t overdo it on the juice and zest. They still tasted like beer. At the end of the day, it’s the inherent qualities of hops, malt, water and yeast that draw beer drinkers to the beverage. When used too liberally, fruit just confuses things and leads to a misunderstanding of what beer is and probably should be. So, I’m very happy with this week’s featured beer, a fruited IPA that is among the best I’ve ever had. Why? Because it is an IPA that uses fruit to enhance its hop bill. Dubbed Tangible, it’s a new addition to Karl Strauss Brewing‘s portfolio, a traditional West Coast IPA chocked full of Chinook, Cascade, Crystal and Columbus hops, with just a touch of tangerine. In appealing to modern-day drinkers’ yearning for a hazy, fruit-forward IPA, it dares to lead with piney, evergreen hops that have fallen out of favor over the years. So in this new beer, we get a taste of yesteryear displaying an impressive, seamless marriage of fruit and the citrus character of all those C hops. It’s an intelligent and highly enjoyable concoction.

From the Brewer: “This beer is epic. It’s a solid West Coast IPA and the newest beer in our core lineup. We are using a ton of tangerine in the brew kettle plus a variety of ‘C’ hops, so you’re really getting hit with huge citrus notes. We also use tangerine puree post-fermentation to help it pop above the IPA flavors. We’re loving this beer and we hope you love it, too. Cheers!”—Paul Segura, Brewmaster, Karl Strauss Brewing