Beer of the Week! 05/09

Tox / Hop Culture Gimme the Lup

Regularly $17.99 / Now on Sale for $16.96
New England Style IPA

Tox Brewing Company, the science-inspired brewers from New London, CT have collaborated with fellow Connecticut brewers, Hop Culture Farms & Brewing Company.

Hop Culture Farms is a family-owned farm and brewery in Colchester. Deputy Fire Chief Sam Wilson and acute care nurse practitioner Heather Wilson bought the land that would become Hop Culture in 2016. They ran it only as a hop farm at first and then opened a brewery two and a half years later. Like any good modern couple with jobs and three kids, they divide their labor — Heather is the head brewer, and Sam is the head farmer.

The “Lup” (pronounced “loop”) in Gimme the Lup is short for “lupulin” — the gland of the hop plant that contains the oils and acids that you want in your brewing process — a clear indication that we’re dealing with a hop forward beer. Indeed, the Wilsons grow all the hops for the Lup on their farm. That’s Cascade, Chinook, and Crystal hops. With the Cascade and Chinook, we expected this beer to be on the grapefruity/West Coasty side. So, we were surprised to find it quite juicy. In fact, it’s pleasantly fruity with notes of pineapple and banana (complete with a little banana peel bitterness thrown into the mix). Finally it sports an unfiltered creaminess to round out the package.

Heather Wilson says she thinks Connecticut has a better beer scene than Vermont. This beer drinks like a fairly hefty punch to go behind them fightin’ words. Where do we need to stand for the follow-up left hook?

Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause it looks like you’ve got an empty glass there.)

Vibrissa Moonlight Trail

Regularly $13.99 / Now on Sale for $12.96
Schwarzbier Style Lager

The Schwarzbier (“Black Beer”) style of lager goes all the way back to the beginning of European lagers.

The first European schwarzbiers we know about were ales, from way back in Roman occupied Thuringia and Saxony in southeastern Germany. Farmers were fermenting barley, wheat, rye, and oats to get beer and would kiln their malts to add a toasty roastiness. When the lager came along in the 1400s, people used the same kilned malts they had been using in ales. Köstritzer (in Bad Köstritz, in Thuringia), the most famous Schwarzbier brewer, began brewing in 1543. Though we are far from Thuringia, Virginia is no stranger to schwarzbiers. We offer as example, the Moonlight Trail from Vibrissa Brewing Company in Front Royal.

The Moonlight Trail offers a heavy roast on the nose. Once you get into the glass, you get bready, toasty malts with distinct coffee notes. It’s perfect for those people who want their Schwarzbier to have a little bite. For people looking for a lower alcohol buzz, the Moonlight Trail also has your back since it won’t knock you back, clocking in at an attractive 3.9% ABV.

Remember!

You can see our entire beer inventory on Untappd.com!