For this week's Tasting Tuesday, Christian tries an IPA that's available almost anywhere.
I recently found myself sitting at a bar at 11am, killing time while waiting on a friend. To my right is Luis, a 40-ish guy who's drinking a Corona without a lime ("It's too early for lime," he tells me), and the bartender, Lisa, takes a break from her early morning prep work to see what she can get me.
The bar I'm in isn't really a beer bar, but Lisa does a great job of walking me through the beer selection. To my surprise, they have Ranger IPA from New Belgium Brewing in bottles. I'm in.
I haven't had a Ranger in a long time, and I forgot what a solid beer it is. It's an orangey-gold color with good carbonation, and a nice 6.5% ABV alcohol content.
This one tends to have a fairly bitter taste, with a slight grapefruit flavor and bit of pine. There's even a little lemon.
Overall, it's a good IPA, but probably not one I'd recommend to someone who wants to try an IPA for the first time. It's really a tad too bitter for the casual fan, but IPA lovers will enjoy this one a lot.
Cheers!
Christian & Eric
