If you are anywhere in the Boston area today, you are fully aware that summer is making its last stand. And not in a good way: it's 70 degrees outside, wet and humid as hell - not exactly what I'd call a crisp autumn day in New England. Though I was originally planning on writing about brown ale, the yummiest, most perfect late fall beverage, I've decided instead, in light of the weather,to discuss my most recent Russian River IPA experience. After all, on a day like today, only something super hoppy and light is gonna hit the spot. Guess summer's just not as over as we thought.....A few weeks ago I wrote about losing my Pliny virginity. Lucky for me, my beer trading buddy out in California (what up Lindsey) hooked me up with a second bottle of Russian River IPA goodness, so the fun didn't have to stop there. I opened up my bottle of Blind Pig IPA over the weekend, and man, was it nice. Just as good as Pliny in my opinion, but at the same time so very, very different. While Pliny has a juicy fruitiness to it that is just delicious, Blind Pig exudes more grassy spiciness that is equally hard to resist. Both have a nice, fully rounded malt profile to balance out their extreme hoppiness, though Blind Pig is a little more toasty where Pliny is carmelly. Oddly, while Blind Pig comes in at 6.1% ABV, almost two full percents lower than Pliny, I found it slightly less drinkable, mainly due to the intense bitterness that accompanies each sip and hangs around for a while after swallowing. Both beers were really enjoyable and either would be perfect right about now. The fruity, citrusy, grassy, spicy hoppiness would really cut through this disgusting muggy-ness, and of course the slight buzz wouldn't hurt either!
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