Dec 9, 2016

Three Notch’d Minute Man IPA

I’m not a fan of this new trend of super juicy IPAs with zero bitterness. I’m not saying that I want a beer to be a hop bomb either, wrecking my palate for later use. I personally need some balance and bite to an IPA, to temper the overly fruit-forward trend in the style as of late — it’s what drew me to IPAs in the beginning and it’s sorely missing from them now. That all said, however, Three Notch’d Brewing Minute Man, a 7% ABV IPA with only 20 IBU, is pretty darn good.

A smooth blend of Idaho 7, Mosaic and Galaxy hops give Minute Man a solid citrusy, orangey character without the bitter punch. The fact that there’s no additional fruit juice added to this IPA will surprise some — it’s that fruit juicy. It’s also beer that goes down way to easily for the amount of alcohol it provides, leaving you to want to chug another. The beer is super tasty and refreshing, and I’m sure will have legions of fans, but I still need some bite in there to round it out. A bit more body on this particular brew would be an added bonus.

I know that I’m a bit of a neanderthal in my thinking when it comes to micro-brewed craft beer, but the IPAs of today aren’t the same as those I cut my beer drinking gums on many moons ago. They’re much more dynamic, and that’s a good thing, but toning down that one singular element that really makes an IPA, and IPA, is a bit saddening. Yes, Minute Man is a damn good beer. Three Notch’d have themselves a treat of a beer here, but I’ll still probably look elsewhere to get my IPA fix — perhaps the company’s 40 Mile or their much hoppier Tollan RyePA (not an IPA).