#297: Elysian Brewing Co » Space Dust IPA

Elysian Brewing Co » Space Dust IPA | ABV: 7.2% | IBUs: 62
Originally part of Elysian's Manic IPA seasonal series, Space Dust reached Year-Round status in 2014 and went to six-packs.

Space Dust boasts "pure starglow energy", brewed with Chinook and dry-hopped with Citra and Amarillo. Grapefruit and grass aromas kick off this hop-centric brew with minerally/slate notes. Bitter, pith notes dominate throughout among tropical fruit notes with a long, finish with a touch of heat.

Altogether, Space Dust rides the IPA wave of strong, aromatic, bitter brews.

#127: Deschutes Brewery » Chainbreaker (White IPA)

My first visit to Philly's lauded, historic Monk's Cafe...

The Brewery: Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR)
The Brew: Chainbreaker (White IPA)
Availability: Draft, Bottle (year-round)
ABV: 5.6% | IBUs: 55
Rating: 9/10
Location: Monk's Cafe (Philadelphia, PA)

The Story? Before my road trips and vacations were beer-driven, they were concert driven. This trek down to one of my favorite U.S. metropolitan areas initiated from the desire to finally see one of my favorite experimental hardcore bands, Circle Takes The Square. I've also had my eye on getting down there to Monk's Cafe, for their extensive and oft-changing list of world-class beers. Two birds and so on... I was traveling on my own for a change and thus on my own time for beers and bands.

Despite my morning starting off with a minor flood of water from a broken shower which reached all the way to the basement, a brief white-out on the road, and typical inbound Philly traffic jams, my determined self arrived within standard deviation of my goal time.

Monk's Cafe was easy to find, just a block over from bustling 15th Street. Dark and cozy, there's a front bar and back bar, and thankfully you can order brews from either at either. With a table for one in the back bar and I order up a burger with ardennes-style ham & a nutty, Belgian cheese along with Deschutes Brewery's Chainbreaker White IPA.

Deschutes beers are only available in a few speckled locations east of the Mississippi, besides Illinois, so I usually jump at the chance to give one a try. My last bid on Deschutes yielded a glass of one of my new favorite beers.


The Beer? Chainbreaker is an American-Belgian hybrid, brewed with Belgian yeast and Cascade and Citra hops. My glass arrives, filled with the translucent, yellow brew with a finger of lacy head.

The alluring citrus nose invites me to dive right into this one and it's beautiful with the perfect level op hops. Mild, bitterness threaded with orange and sweet grapefruit augmented by a perfectly prickly Belgian-style carbonation, but not too much to be distracting.

Sweet, bready malts provide a wonderful backbone while modest, but highly complimentary herbal and floral flavors nod in. This is pretty much the perfect start to what should be a thrilling and stress-reducing escape.

#003: Ithaca Beer "Groundzilla" & "Flowercot Power" (Beer Blend!)

I like to keep things interesting when it comes to drinking beer. Like many of my beer enthusiasts comrades, such as yourself, I'm always searching for new style variations, fresh hop & yeast ideas, herbal experiments, aged versions of old favorites, and over the last six months, beer blends have been on my mind.

When my partner Mel & I just missed Ithaca Beer's latest cask creation, we decided to get creative. We were already there. What were we to do, go home?

The Brewery: Ithaca Beer, Co. (Ithaca, NY)
The Brew: Apricot Wheat Ale blended with Flower Power IPA
Availability: Mix it yourself! (draft & bottles respectively)
ABV: ~6.0
Rating: 6/10
Location: Ithaca Beer Taproom, Ithaca, NY

The Story? Admittedly, fruit wheat ales have never been high on my favorite list. Ithaca's Apricot Wheat is one of the better ones, but usually only finds it's way to my pallet towards the end of a session.  However, I am a big fan of Ithaca's Flower Power and a proponent of citrusy IPA's.  This blend seemed like a logical choice at the time.

The Beer? On first drag, the wheat cuts right through, which was a bit of a surprise considering Flower Powers robust nature. The apricot appears in a far more natural setting, which I always hope for when faced with a fruit wheat, but seldom get. The wonderful Simcoe, Chinook, Citra, Ahtanum, and Centennial hops from Flower Power are still determinable, but in a more balanced, lazy way than FP's usual full-frontal approach.

Overall, smooth down with plenty of fruit on the nose. Bring citrus with a mellow bite on the tongue. Fans of Founder's All Day IPA should take note. A solid experiment, though the beauty of Flower Power is masked a bit. Next time around I'll likely aim for 2/3 FP and 1/3 Apricot Wheat.

Nickname: "Flowercot Power" Summer Session IPA

The Brewery: Ithaca Beer, Co. (Ithaca, NY)
The Brew: Cascazilla (Red IPA) & Ground Break (American Saison)
Availability: Mix it yourself! (draft & bottles respectively)
ABV: ~6.5
Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Ithaca Beer Taproom, Ithaca, NY

The Story? This one was Mel's idea and a great one at that. Ithaca's Cascazilla with it's monster amount of Cascade hops is an old favorite and Ground Break hoppy, american take is nice variation on the saison - one of my favorite styles.

The Beer? Very dry with a wonderful, lingering hop finish and beautiful amber color. Root & pepper on the nose. This idea is a true blend. Both beers get lost within each other and turn into something refreshingly new, yet very accessible. I could put back a growler of this easily.

Overall an excellent, easy beer. Nothing barrier breaking, but a recommended and very drinkable experiment.

Nickname: "Groundzilla" Ameri-Belgian IPA