New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA

India Pale Ales are undoubtedly an acquired taste. My son John, before he became a craft beer aficionado, ordered a Ranger IPA at a bar, not realizing the effect that the ridiculously high hop content would have. I believe his response was some variation of "What's wrong with this beer?" He got better. 

New Belgium's India Pale Ale was originally just styled "Ranger IPA", in 2016 they rebranded all of their IPAs as "Ranger Voodoo", with what used to be Rampant Double IPA becoming Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA, which I did a review for in 2013:

https://ill-gottenbooty.blogspot.com/2013/04/new-belgiums-rampant-imperial-ipa.html

Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA pours the color of ripe pineapple with a fluffy white head. The IBUs clock in at 70, a pretty healthy hop level, but unlike earlier versions of New Belgium IPAs, it doesn't feel like the enamel of your teeth is being removed. The 9% ABV puts it solidly in the "imperial" camp. There are subtle citrus notes, not much pine. Other than that, a decent enough IPA, but nothing outstanding. 6.0 on the IGB IPA Scale.

 

New Belgium Mountain Time Premium Lager

There's always been an emphasis on ales in the craft beer community. There's a lot more that you can do with flavor profiles with top/warm fermentation. The mass-produced beers all tend to be lagers, so many craft beer folks tend to turn up their noses at lagers, and admittedly, there's fewer descriptors that you can use in talking about a lager. 

Mountain Time pours a pale, straw-colored hue, with a lacy two-finger head. Like the old cliché, so clear that you can read a newspaper through it. Contrary to expectations there is a lot of subtlety in the flavor profile: low-key floral aroma, saltine cracker and some understated caramel sweetness.  All in all, a great winter lager. 8.5/10 on the IGB Lager Scale. 
 

Hire-Wire Brewing: 10W-40 Imperial Stout with Coffee, Chocolate & Vanilla

Did anyone really mistake this for a can of oil? They had to print "contains alcohol" on the can, so may "yes". It's a slightly lower ABV than I've been drinking lately at 8%. In my opinion you don't need double-digit alcohol content in order to make a good stout, although some brewers mask a less-than stellar offering with more ABV. Not so 10W-40. It pours an inky black, with a thunderous four-finger khaki head that flows from bottom to top. They say it's brewed with coffee, chocolate and vanilla, but. while all those flavors are present, none are overwhelming. I'm not detecting any other flavors, but they aren't needed. Good stuff. 10/10 on the IGB stout scale. 
 

Lagunitas "Willettized" Coffee Stout Aged in Rye Oak barrels

The kings of hoppiness, Lagunitas Brewery, do some styles other than IPAs quite well, and this is one of them. Did I say "quite" well? I meant amazingly well! They're calling it a coffee stout, but it could easily be categorized as an imperial stout due to the 13.1% ABV. The "Willettized" refers to J.D. Willett in Kentucky, a distiller of rye and bourbon, who provided the rye barrels in which this incredible stout was aged. 

It pours a deep, dark mahogany brown with smoky ruby highlights and a scanty chocolate head. The high ABV imparts a heady boozy heat, the rye & oak is detectable, as is a very subdued coffee flavor. There are also hints of licorice, dark chocolate, and brown sugar with a tiny bit of fig and raisin wafting in as it warms up. 

Not a "quaffing" beer, not one for Mom's lawn guy, but without a doubt a 9.5 on the IGB Stout scale

Sierra Nevada 40 Hoppy Anniversary Ale

Sierra Nevada was one of the first craft brewers in the United States, and from Day One specialized in hoppy ales and pioneered the style known as West Coast IPA. 40 pours a pale copper hue with a fluffy two-finger head. The 6% ABV gives it a bit of a kick, but won't limit you to one. The 65 IBUs put in firmly in India Pale Ale territory, and not just a pale ale with big dreams. The hops give it a smooth combination of pine and citrus; there's also some adjacent notes: pear, peach and white grape. Orange peel and grapefruit finish off the experience. Solid IPA, but honestly I don't detect a lot of difference between this and their regular offerings.