Instant credibility

The details: Greenpoint Beer & Ales Co. Instant Credibility DDH DIPA, 7.8% ABV, served in a pint can

When we were both much younger, my brother was a very interesting dresser. He was the one able to go to the thrift store and actually find things that fit, and the things he chose were then laughable but later became quite jealousy inducing. He had these fluorescent yellow pants that he paired at times with a paisley vest that had a lime green silk back. Somehow, it worked. I wish I had pictures.

After I left for college he changed his repertoire and caught on to the JNCO craze that took bell bottom jeans and made them into something much, much larger. I was a little surprised that someone so anti-trend had become one so trendy, but he was young. Thankfully he grew up and went back to his total non-trendy self, though I think the US Navy had just a bit to do with that.

There are some obvious trends in beer that I've talked about. Everyone is taking their traditional stout and aging it in whatever old barrel they can get their hands on. I swear just in the last six months I've seen beer aged in barrels that previously held whiskey, rum, brandy, wine, tequila, bourbon, rye - I'm surprised someone hasn't tried to age something in an old keg of gunpowder yet (and wow wouldn't that just be disgusting). 

Trends aren't always so bad, though. These days everyone's got their favorite west coast IPA and their favorite New England IPA, and they want so badly to tell you about the subtle differences in each one and why they chose the ones they chose. But this recent trend of everything being double dry hopped has really perplexed me, so I started reading.

First of all, there's a difference in wet and dry hops. Wet hops are fresh off the bine and still coated with oils and lupulin, and dry hops have been kiln dried to give them a longer shelf life. Normal brewing technique takes either of these two types of hops and puts them in the boil, as they both will add different flavors to your beer at that stage. But to "dry hop" your beer is to take hops (technically either of the types above) and add them once the beer has reached the fermenter. So in short, dry hopping your beer means adding the hops after the original cook. Do two rounds of additional hopping and - BINGO - you've got a double dry hopped beer.

While out last week celebrating my friend Sam's birthday, we were talking about the DDH trend, and he recommended Instant Credibility from Greenpoint Ales. I had one while celebrating, and brought one home to write this review. Some IPAs taste super-fresh; this one doesn't. Some IPAs taste rather bitter; this one isn't overly. The dry hopping here keeps the bitterness at bay while dialing up the hop flavor, which in this case is citrus-like without becoming tart. There's a level of bittersweetness to the beer that is the only drawback that I can find; at the end of every sip that last taste is just not perfect. But hey, it's a DDH DIPA which means it's got trend cred, so sales are probably good.

The verdict: 4.25 out of 5 (on Untapp'd - follow me there @slownumbers to see what I'm drinking)