So, a couple of weeks ago, I woke up to my wife telling me I had multiple packages packages from the mail, sitting on the counter. One was from NewChief, and the other was from KCUnited. They were kind enough to send me some quality beer in return for the Ghost I sent in November.
New Chief sent me a Coffee IPA (you read that correctly) from Fossil Cove Brewing Company, and a Hardwork Pale Ale from Ozark Beer Company. KCUnited sent me a Spotted Puffer DIPA from Pipeworks Brewing Company. Pics below pulled from Google.
I tried all three on the same night, and found all of them enjoyable.
I started with the Coffee IPA, because to be honest with you, I figured it would be a novelty type beer. I mean, I'd never heard of coffee in an IPA before, and how could it be anything more than something you try once and never go back for more? I admit that I didn't like coffee at all when I started drinking beer a couple of years ago. Since then, I've grown to enjoy it in stouts and porters. But an IPA? C'mon. Well, it was good. I think the key to it was making sure neither flavor was overpowering. You get a decent shot of coffee, and then it finishes with an IPA flavor that certainly isn't hopped out west coast style. It was a surprisingly good balance. I saw some people online mentioning that there wasn't much coffee flavor, but I disagree. I also found out that there are quite a few Coffee IPA's out there.
Then I tried the Hardwork Pale Ale. NewChief mentioned that this was his almost daily drinker, and I can see why. If it was at a decent price it would be a great everyday drinker. It also had a balanced flavor to it. Good malt, and subdued hops. It would be really easy to sit in front of the TV one night and run through about 13 of these things. I drank one the night they came in, and was gonna share the second one with a buddy, but after tasting it, I didn't really want to share it anymore. So I drank the second one after the Chiefs beat Houston.
Now, the Spotted Puffer. The artwork on that bottle was freaking awesome. I was excited to try the DIPA, to compare it to Abrasive and Ghost. If you read the description of the beer from the company, then it's going to taste exactly as you would expect. Honey, passion fruit puree, and Citra hops. This thing was very sweet, I thought (maaaaaaybe a tad to sweet). If they came off the honey just a little bit, I think the beer might be even better, but as it is, it's still a great beer. It had a juicy, refreshing flavor to it. When I first tried Ghost, I thought it might have something more tropical in it, such as passion fruit, but after tasting this one, I know I was wrong. You can certainly taste passion fruit in this beer. With this beer (and the hardwork pale ale), I found myself taking continous sips, rather than taking a sip and setting them down. Solid, solid beer.
Thanks to KCUnited, and NewChief. You guys rock.
Listen guys, when I decided to send those Ghosts out, I didn't want anything in return. Not that I'm complaining. It paid off big time. You guys sent me stuff from your areas, including Marcellus's home brew, that really tasted great. Really though, the Ghost was meant as a thanks for introducing me to craft beer. It was this thread that piqued my interest in craft beer. It was the scramble for the Boulevard Chocolate Ale a few years ago that got me into the game. I just mentioned that I'd like to try it, and Mikeyis4dcats was nice enough to PM me, and offer to ship me a bottle. I thought that was awesome, and since then he's sent me a few other beers that I can't get here. On top of that, I've learned a ton about beer from this thread, and have PM'ed Reaper with questions about Farmhouse Ales to the point where I thought he might block me. So, the Ghosts were my way of saying thanks to you guys. Obviously I couldn't send one to everybody, because I wanted to drink a bunch of them myself, but if there's any beer from this area that any of you think I can grab for you, let me know. It would be my pleasure.