04 Mar This Week On Tap: Triton Brewing’s Hatchblower Pepper IPA
A while back, we ran a story on IndianaOnTap.com about our predicted trends in craft beer for 2016. Grady Trela, the author, talked about IPAs continuing to boom, IPLs growing in popularity, the growth of beers being served on nitro, and finally session beers for people looking to drink a lot of good beer in one sitting.
One trend I hope to see continue grow is breweries continuing to experiment with pepper beers. I love anything spicy, and the addition of peppery heat to anything from saisons to heavy stouts is usually enough to get me to at least try a beer, if not order one blindly.
The first time I ever tried a pepper beer, I was in Chattanooga with my sister who was there to compete in an IronMan. We arrived a few days early to see the city, relax, and drink local beer. There, I was introduced to a ghost pepper saison, and I was immediately hooked on the heat. A few months later, I was lining up in line multiple times at Winterfest for Zwanzigz’ ghost pepper stout, getting my fill on the spicy pepper goodness that mashes so well with those dark, roasty, chocolate flavors.
Peppers in lighter beers, starting at IPAs on down, may be my favorite though, because the grassy flavor of the pepper has more room to shine through. I loved that ghost pepper saison in Chattanooga because I could actually find the natural flavor of the pepper among the heat.
Hatchblower, though not the spiciest beer I’ve had, does have some heat to it that may be more pronounced to people not used to hot foods, but good news: they’ll give you a half pint of it for your drinking pleasure.
Swing into both Triton locations now for some Hatchblower while you can. This is one beer with bite you don’t want to miss.
Chip
Posted at 15:31h, 10 MarchAdam I can’t agree with you MORE! LOVE me some Hatch Bower! Definitely one of my favorite releases of the year!
If you haven’t tried it already, and you happen to get down to North Carolina (Charlotte area to be specific), search out Birdsong Brewing Co.’s Jalapeño Pale Ale. It’s a lighter beer checking in at 5.5 ABV but packs a wonderful flavor.