Hello Everyone! Sorry for the delay in finally getting a post put up, I have been back in the mother land for thanksgiving. Denver treated me extremely well; I hit up nine breweries and had an awesome time. Among my favorite stops were Odell Brewing, Avery Brewing, and a new one for me, Epic Brewing which just opened a new brewery in Denver, but is originally a Salt Lake City brewery.
Regardless! Let’s get going, tonight I am drinking a beer I smuggled down from colorado, which if anyone knows me, this was a college favorite, and I am extremely excited to blog about it! As always, let’s take a brief look at the packaging. I like it; littered with golden hops all over, which naturally give you an idea that this is a super hoppy beer! However, as I have mentioned, new Belgium is redoing their packaging starting in 2014, and of the new labels, I absolutely love the brew labels for rampant, other labels can again be found here Here.
And I added the new Rampant label on the bottom!
My roommate and I didn’t buy dozens of six packs because of the labeling though. We bought it because of the beer! I poured it into my New Belgium/ Road 34 pint glass. It pours a clear golden copper color with a small head, which is weird because I always poured this sloppy in college and had a glass with ¾ head. Smells very sweet, undeniably hoppy, it has some hints of citrus, likely due to the choice in yeast. Usually I hold it for last, but Rampant has an ABV at 8.5%. It has a killer kick, and for only about $1 more for a six pack, one of the undeniable reasons we drank this beer in college was the fact that you got such a strong kick.
The reason I mention the ABV is the fact that although this beer is extremely bitter at 85 International Bitterness Units (or IBUS) the strong alcohol content actually cuts the bitterness, so as long as you drink it nice and cold, you won’t get that extreme bitterness that you would expect. However, I’ve found in my drinking that the high bitterness cuts the booziness that I often will pick up from the high ABV. I get a lot of citrus from the first few sips. Its got good carbonation, and is an extremely drinkable beer. It isn’t as complex as many imperial IPAs, but as I’ve said, it is oh so drinkable.
Judgment
I showed my cards pretty early in this one, right? Sorry! But there were a few months while in my last semester of college where if you looked in my fridge, either my roommate Kael or I had a six pack of Rampant sitting front and center. This beer hasn’t made its way down by me yet, which just makes it more special to be drinking it down here. This is a great introduction to one of my favorite style of beers, the Imperial IPA. Check it out!!
Don’t love Rampant? I want to know why!! Interested in trading for any Florida Brews, hit me on email!
Interested in learning more about the IBU- This is a great article
بالعافية!
(Arabic for Cheers!)
Normal Guys' Guide to Beer 