Being a craft beer lover and one who is always out to try new craft brews. And when I can find a “new beer” from a craft brewery that I enjoy I try to contain both my excitement and expectations; too often a brewery’s consistency lacks from style to style or beer to beer. However, this weekend I am enjoying a beer from one of my favorite breweries that I have never tried before, until now. This weekend Bear Republic’s Hop Shovel is What’s on Tap!
[Editor’s note: There are literally zero photos of Hop Shovel online and our writer already recycled his bottles, so we apologize for using a basic image as the lead for this story…]
Currently America is in the middle of the IPA Renaissance. It seems more and more breweries are brewing IPAs and variations of the style. This is good because the number of IPAs to chose from are abundant however, just because there are more does not mean more is better. Despite not trying Hop Shovel, and only being familiar with Bear Republic’s Racer 5 IPA, I was curious to try another IPA from this west coast brewery.
Hop Shovel has the classic citrusy IPA aroma and flavors; tons of grapefruit, lime, and orange notes. The taste and mouth feel is complex and the citrus / hoppy flavors intermix with the subtle maltiness. The finish of each sip was mildly bitter and surprisingly smooth. After the pint I was surprised to find that Hop Shovel’s IBU (bitterness) was 100! (100 is high on the scale many IPAs sit between 70-95 with the most bitter between 100-110.)
If you are into IPAs make sure you give this one a try!
Cheers!
Beer Stats
Style: American Indian Pale Ale
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 7.5%
IBUs: 100
Color: Yellow
Hops: Mosaic and Meridain
Beer Review Stats
Beer Advocate: 89 and —
Rate Beer: 98
Bear Republic Brewing Company's Hop Shovel is What's on Tap
