Neon (N)ate D(ion) IPA
Together 10 years, atomic number 10, coincidence?
| Hi There, I hope you’re all doing well, staying warm and enjoying some of the wonderful beers that are being released for the holidays. Speaking of new beers, tomorrow we’re officially releasing Dion and Nate’s wedding beer – Neon IPA. Here’s the story: Early last spring, Nate and Dion approached me and asked if I would create a beer for their wedding. Of course, I said yes. To get it started I asked them to send me an email outlining what they wanted in a beer. They did so individually. When I first read what they sent me I almost had to laugh. Turns out, while they were united in wanting an IPA and even had one hop requested in common, everything else about what they wanted was diametrically opposite to the other. I almost contacted them to see if I could get them to have some more common ground, but I do love a challenge and some ideas had started to form. Plus, what they each requested reflected their personalities. I got to work starting with using every hop or type of hop they each suggested. Next I took a long time determining which malts would best support those hops. Finally, and this was the most difficult, I had to figure what was the best way to combine those hops and when to add them. The end result, the test beer, you may remember having. We called it ‘Leven IPA. I chose that name because, by the time they get married, they’ll have been together over ten years. At that time, we didn’t want anyone to know we were releasing the pilot version of what would eventually become their wedding beer. After they tried the pilot batch, they had a couple things they wanted tweaked. After going over those, I revised the recipe to reflect their requests and we put out the second rendition. We called that version Quizmaster IPA – again referring to Dion and Nate because they host our Tuesday Trivia Nights. They loved it, and today we’re releasing the official version. The name? Well, it’s a blending of their names and what their friends call the couple. I’m not entirely sure how the Neon nickname came about – you’ll have to ask them. What I do know is that we decided to keg and can it -12 oz 6 packs with a big release party TODAY. The weather is supposed to be great and we’ll have all sorts of goodies, and 12 other offerings on tap. We open at noon. Kristy and I will both be there in the afternoon and are looking forward to seeing you and celebrating with Nate and Dion. And the beer itself? Well, the color is Dion blond (of course). With the first drink, one is treated to a neon burst of complex hop aromas – citrusy, piney, resiny, grapefruit (mind boggling) – it almost seems to change with each sip – one time it’s piney, resiny, the next it is juicy. The flavor is a hophead’s dream, supported by a solid malt background. The finish strongly suggests another sip – complex and delightful, it lingers just long enough to ready you for the next – but while it’s nice to sip, it’s better to drink the whole beer to make sure. And speaking of the holidays – we have gift cards and lots of beer to go. Give the gift that never gets returned. Looking for a place to host a party? Contact Kristy at [email protected]. It was an honor to be asked to create a beer for this special couple. I hope you all enjoy it. Cheers, Tom |
