Brewery: Breckenridge Brewing Co.
Bio: In February 1990, after years of home brewing, Richard Squire decided to open up a craft brewery/restaurant in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Breckenridge was the third craft brewery started in Colorado. In 1992, they expanded into Denver and became the first craft brewery out of Colorado to bottle their beer in 6 and 12 packs.
Today, Breckenridge owns five brewpubs and ale houses in Colorado and produces 52,000 barrels of beer per year.
Beer: Lucky U IPA
Style: American style India Pale Ale
Tasting note guide: India pale ales were originally brewed by the British in the 18th century.
They had to deal with the problem of getting their beer to British soldier’s citizens all over the globe, namely the guys over in India.
To do this, they raised the alcohol content of their beer and added large amounts of hops. This creates a very floral, citrusy and most of all bitter beer which is balanced by malts.
The Lucky U IPA is an American style IPA; The American IPA is not for the faint of heart.
It is much stronger in flavor, particularly floral bitterness, than most other types of IPA’s.
Most American IPA’s I have had are unfiltered, which adds to their pungent bouquets of citrus and flowers and makes the beer heavier than most IPAs. All in all, the American style IPA is generally the strongest in flavor and in alcohol content and, much like America the country, people will either love it or hate it … but chances are they’ll hate it.
Want to expand your IPA/pale ale pallet? As I said above, most people are going to hate IPAs, and there are definitely a few I have tried that are just a little too oppressive to truly enjoy.
Arrogant Bastard Ale and Torpedo Extra IPA are two you’re going to want to stay away from if you aren’t that into IPAs, as someone unused to IPAs would likelyu be overwhelmed by them.
Saranac White IPA is an extremely well balanced floral, hoppy, and citrusy IPA, much more like the American style of IPA.
Magic Hat #9 is a much maltier IPA, which is much more reminiscent of the British style of IPA and much easier to drink than any American style.
I would start from there if you wanted to feel the water before jumping in the ocean.
IBU: 68
ABV: 6.2%
Hoosick Street Discount Beverage Center price: $16.80 12 packs or $1.40 per beer
Review: I got the Lucky U IPA in a variety 12 pack from Hoobev, and I think it might be a new favorite of mine.
It has a huge floral taste at first, which transitions into a very hoppy bitterness.
These flavors are well-balanced by a sweet caramel malt ending that doesn’t detract from any of the features of an IPA.
It is full-flavored, drinkable, and refreshing. It has a strong flavor of grapefruit, which provides the citrus and bitterness notes that make Lucky U a more familiar way to enjoy the bitterness of the typical IPA.
Taste: 8.5/10 – Strong grapefruit flavors, fairly strong bitterness, very floral, balanced well with malts.
Body: 9/10 – The flavor is strong, and the aroma is pungent with a lovely bouquet of 7 different hops, most prominently Amarillo, Magnum and Cascade.
Feel: 8.5/10 – It’s refreshing, and at the same time it punches you in the face … in a good way.
Overall: 9/10 – By far one of my favorites; I was supposed to share this beer with friends, but I paid for the 12 pack, and no one drank any of it before the weekend was over, so I finished them and enjoyed the hell out of it.
If you ever find yourself in Hoobev, you should pick this variety pack up; it also has an awesome vanilla porter, oatmeal stout, and a solid amber ale.