Beer and Vinyl for a Tuesday with FOALS

Recovery Tuesday, a thing I just invented.  I am actually home alone, and I have had a surgery on my knee, which makes my knee temporarily less bendy.  Neither of those things are stopping me from having a beer though. 

What goes well with beer?

What goes well with beer? Well Vinyl music in particular, any music and beer is generally good, but why not go the whole thing.

The Vinyl will be Foals Holy Fire album from 2013

The beer is a Behemoth Hop Diggity Dog, an IPA of 6.2% ABV and 40 IBU things, and around the 186 calories a serve. The 1 litre bottle is about 4.89 standard drinks of beer in NZ. 

Of course it’s a hazy IPA.

They’re appear to be still on trend. although I did have a clear filtered one the other day for a change, tasty it was too, a Dankomatic from Epic Brewing.

 Keeping my eye in.

Citra Hopped Hazy IPA brewed for Behemoth’s Hazy and Hot Dog event at Rogue and Vagabond for Road to Beervana

So, What could possibly go wrong? Not as much as you imagine, MrsPhil seemed quite calm and accepting of my Tuesday, perhaps she’s not spotted the bottle.

It’s dank beer, but not overly, almost muted, and it is hazy cloudy.  Seems a lot more than the 40 IBU things, 40 being at the lower end for IPA beers that range up to around the 60 mark. (Sam Adams Boston Lager is around 40). 

I’m kind of disappointed in this, I’m not totally sold on the bitterness and I’m not really getting the middle part of the beer, it lacks clarity of flavour and doesn’t seem to want to take you anywhere on a journey. (Something I learned from cooking programs of course, but it seems germane when trying to enjoy the flavours of beer.)

I’ve been known to enjoy Citra hopped beers too, but these leave you wanting for something more, some punch or peak of flavour that makes you want to dive in again.

This was after all a competition beer, I guess there’s a difference to in the wild to in the lounge 🙂 I imagine if MrsDubya rustled up some hotdogs I’d be hop diggity all over them and this, it might be a beer that you have to have with flavours to bring out the accents and points. As it is I don’t have that, something I’ll be bringing up later, if I’m brave enough. Probably won’t.

The Pdubyah-O-Meter rates this as  a 7 of of its things from the thing. It’s just not that good that I’d go back to it, and it sits there in the run-of-the-mill beers that you get, which is both surprising and unusual for Behemoth beers. I’d never be rude about a beer, but then again I’m not about to blow some smoke about a beer either. 

The double dip review

• Where did I get it? Liquorland Locally had it on tap.
• Am I enjoying it? Not so much that I’m enthusiastic 
• Would I have another? Not going to go out of my way no.
• Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? There jut isn’t enough in this to make it a beer that you’d talk about. 

Music for this:  Holy Fire by Foals on the Spotify player  if you want to sing a long. I’m playing the vinyl version. 

This is an album that appears to fit that tricky ‘follow up to a good album’ spot, or the awkward 3rd album. It lacks ideas and it becomes chewing gum to the ears, with it just being there playing and not engaging. Fitted the beer  well in this instance.  

IMPERIAL/DOUBLE IPA

Imperial IPA, Double IPA or DIPA is a strong, often sweet, intensely hoppy version of the traditional India Pale Ale. Bitterness units range upward of 100 IBUs and alcohol begins at 7.5% but is more commonly in the 8.5-10% range. The flavour profile is intense all-round. Unlike barley wines, the balance is heavily towards the hops, with crystal and other malts providing support.