Hop heads, this could turn out to be your happiest week yet. About 50 local breweries are rolling out their hoppiest beers. Here's where to find them.
When just a plain IPA isn’t hoppy enough … Hop heads, get ready. (Or wince if you must.) Here comes a drink fest of Triple IPAs, the hoppiest of all beer events, with 49 local breweries rolling them out for Hop Mob (Feb. 2-12).
Hop Mob kicks off Thursday in Fremont when Brouwer’s Café taps 32 Triple IPAs at 3 p.m. It’s one of a dozen events across Western Washington over the next two weeks. Flatstick Pub will also feature them Feb. 4 at its Pioneer Square and Kirkland locations. So will Thirsty Hop in Kirkland on Feb. 11.
You can check out the full schedule here.
These Triple IPAs are burners; they’re bitter. They don’t go down easy — they’re 10 percent or higher in alcohol. You will be able to see which brewers are good at crafting such a difficult beer. The exceptional Triple IPAs will mask the boozy punch and be smooth enough that you can at least finish a glass.
Some beers to look for at Hop Mob:
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Reuben’s Brews will feature “Blimey That’s Bitter,” a version of its popular Crikey beer on steroids. (Six pounds of hops per barrel.) It’s juicy with big tropical and piney notes. Reuben’s also will sell Blimey at its Ballard brewery on Saturday ($9 for a 22-ounce bottle).
Standard Brewing in the Central District will bring back a fan favorite: “Draxx Them Sklounst.”
Bale Breaker Brewing Company makes some of the finest IPAs, its Topcutter often mentioned among the best in Washington state. Check out Mount Saint Humulus, the first Triple IPA rolled out by this Yakima brewery.
Cloudburst Brewing, which was our choice for best new brewery in 2016, will do a citrusy, tropical hop bomb with six different hops called Swedish Prison Orgy.