Lonerider Hoppy Ki Aye
I cracked open this can of Lonerider’s Hoppy Ki Aye up back in late December as I was in desperate need of an IPA. The weather hadn’t been terrible — it had pretty darn cold for a couple of weeks, but the sun was finally shining bright. What better way to remind the spirit of warmer months to come than with an IPA?
Hoppy Ki Aye is a 6.6% ABV (76 IBU) IPA brewed with a healthy dose of Columbus and Amarillo hop varieties, giving the beer a hop forward aroma and flavor profile that just about matches. I believe the beer was served a bit too chilled as it took a few moments for the flavor to fully develop in the glass. Even when the hop character finally opened up, however, this beer is still a bit on the mild-mannered side. That’s not to say it’s bad — it most certainly is not. I guess, given the name of the brew and the guns-a-blazing figure adorning the cane, I was expecting something a bit more assertive.
That said, the beer still provides a nice array of grassy hops, grapefruit and herbal notes to go along with balancing grain and bready notes. Hoppy Ki Aye drinks easy with a moderate hop bite that tingles for a good long while in the finish. It’s a well-rounded IPA that just about satiated by hop thirst that cold Winter’s day.