Beer of the Week Blog: Smuttynose IPA
By Jonathan Fitzgerald • Jul 17th, 2009 • Category: Arts, Blog
Confession: Surveying the long row of beer taps at Zeppelin Hall is quickly becoming one of my favorite pastimes. I would definitely spend a lot more time walking back and forth considering my choice if a.) I wasn’t sure that people, including the bartender, were annoyed by my level of concentration and b.) I didn’t enjoy drinking beer more than looking at it.
This week, after an abnormally short time surveying, I decided to go with the Smuttynose IPA. For me, the hoppy punch of an India Pale Ale is such a standout taste that I know when I want it and when I don’t. Discussing the “aggressive and pungent grapefruit hop character” as it was described in Boston’s The Weekly Dig’s Beer Highlights of 2004, and confessing that I haven’t always loved IPA’s, a friend at the table mentioned a person she knows that doesn’t like the taste of beer. Period.
Needless to say, we were all shocked and horrified that such a person exists and we agreed that an intervention was necessary. As my friend put it, there’s no such thing as not liking beer. If you don’t like it the first time, drink more … you’ll like it. It was then decided that three days — a long weekend — of daily beer consumption is all it should take to get one acclimated.
Yet, this is how it was for me with IPA when I first began indulging in the finer ales. I was instantly attracted to the taste of Pale Ale; Magic Hat’s #9 (also available at the beer garden) was an early favorite, but I distinctly remember not finishing my first IPA. It wasn’t Smuttynose, but Ipswich IPA and, I’ve come to learn, it was a pretty excellent sample of the kind. But if you’re not ready for it, or accustomed to it, the strong hoppy taste can be brutal.
Purportedly, there’s a reason for all those hops in an India Pale Ale, or, I should say, there was a reason. As the story goes, India Pale Ales were really nothing more than regular Pale Ales in 18th century England, but to make the journey to India, then a British colony, brewers strongly hopped the beer to preserve it for the trip. Until recently I did not realize that this story was disputed, but my research turned up some strong opinions on the matter, and the evidence seems to point to the fact that this may be little more than a myth. The strongest piece of evidence is the claim that other types of beer, like porters, made the trip just fine.
Either way at 6.9 percent alcohol by volume and with a taste that literally is lip smacking, Smuttynose’s IPA is an excellent choice at Zeppelin Hall. As a side note, though it’s difficult to sense if my recommendations are getting through to anyone, I can at least know that my wife is reading. Her choice this week? Tennent’s Scottish Ale.
Like what you've read here? Please consider making a donation or becoming a sustaining member. As a grassroots news organization, we rely on community support -- as well as paid advertising -- to survive.
Jonathan Fitzgerald is a writer and educator living in Jersey City with his wife Stephanie, a painter. He teaches composition at New Jersey City University and works as a Writing Center Specialist at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. He is the managing editor of www.patrolmag.com.
Email this author | All posts by Jonathan Fitzgerald
