Portland’s own Peak Organic Brewing has released their own IPA and I have to say, it’s the single best Peak beer yet! After
trying a pint myself at $3 Dewey’s a few days ago, I had the chance to ask Peak muckety-muck Geoff Masland about the new brew. Geoff says,
It’s been a beer we’ve had on our mind for a few years, as we are all hop heads at Peak. We love a variety of IPAs– American, British, Imperial, Double, etc– but we wanted to create a unique IPA that isn’t common for New England-brewed beers that is also versatile (a session IPA for extreme hop heads, and a delicious offering paired with a meal for folks who enjoy trying new beers).
Our goal from the start was to create a continually aroma-hopped IPA that has low bitterness. We wanted to brew a beer that truly glorified and highlighted our favorite hops– Amarillo, Simcoe, and Nugget. These west coast style, American hops give our IPA a big, citrusy bouquet and front palate. This is also a result of significant dry hopping (we dry hopped with 100 lbs of hops per 50 barrel batch). We use mostly Pale and a little Crystal malts, which lend a smooth, slightly sweet backbone to the hop showcase.
A sneak test batch of the IPA is currently on tap at $3 Dewey’s and another keg is expected to make its way to the Great Lost Bear this weekend. After a few slight alterations (upping the malt body a bit, for instance), Masland said, the next batch will be bottled and kegged for proper distribution on March 26th. By early April the Peak IPA will be available in “the usual spots with a great beer selection”.
The final ABV is 7.2% with 74 IBUs. If you can make your way to $3 Dewey’s or GLB this weekend, I would highly recommend it. Now that the sun is out, the Peak Organic IPA makes a great, refreshing session IPA. Cheers!
