San Diego’s Gravity Heights’ Triple
IPA debuts on Super Bowl weekend
GUEST BLOG / By Brandon Hernandez, Senior Editor, West
Coaster Beverage News, San Diego--The
NFL’s championship game isn’t the only super-sized thing about this weekend, or
even this time of year.
Thanks to the innovation of
Vinnie Cilurzo, owner of Santa Rosa’s Russian River Brewing and the brew
mastermind behind an imperial IPA dubbed “Pliny the Younger” come February,
professional brewers bring out their biggest, lupulin-loaded artillery —
high-octane, hop-driven brews known as “triple IPAs.”
Defined as IPAs coming in at
or above 10% alcohol-by-volume (ABV), they are challenging to get right. It’s
not simply a matter of adding lots more grain and seemingly stupid amounts of
hops. It takes skill and, even then, what went into a fermenter with the
greatest of promise (sometimes Golden Promise) can fail to realize its
potential.
For example locally, a high-caliber triple IPA from Sorrento Valley’s Gravity Heights, is
something to be appreciated… and sipped. While pronounced citrus, tropical, and
stone fruit flavors can up perceived drinkability, it’s important to remember
that these beers are behemoths and will knock you down if guzzled with reckless
abandon. Even at 10.4% ABV, One More Trip finishes particularly dry for this
sometimes-sweet style, so pace yourself. It should be easy enough seated amid
this indoor-outdoor brewpub’s stylish environs. The first chance to do so will
be during Gravity Heights’ one-year anniversary festivities, which will take
place on Super Bowl Sunday and see the business take over its entire front
parking lot for increased sports and suds-inspired revelry.
Skip Virgilio, Brewmaster, Gravity Heights: “San Diego has long-been known for hoppy beers. This
is embodied by the classic ‘West Coast’ IPA, a style known for its simple malt
characteristics, which allow the hop-derived citrus, pine, floral, and fruit
flavors and bitterness to dominate on the palate.
Single IPAs, which have
dominated craft beer sales for years, are typically clean, crisp, and
easy-drinking, however, brewers always like to push the envelope, so IPAs have
evolved over time to include a stronger subset with even more hop presence and
strength. The ‘double’ IPA is a stronger, danker, and more complex version of
its lighter counterpart. But why stop there?
The ‘triple’ IPA style
represents the richest, hoppiest, and most intense example of an IPA. This
style was made famous by Russian River Brewing’s Pliny the Younger in the
mid-2000s. Each February, countless fans line up for hours prior to its
release. Other breweries have since taken notice and look to this time of
year—following the holiday chaos but still in the throes of the winter
season—to release their strongest and most robust triple IPAs.
Our team has been looking
forward to brewing a triple IPA since we opened, and are proud to present our
first-ever IIIPA to celebrate our one-year anniversary. One More Trip will join
our family of hoppy beers on Super Bowl Sunday. It is an extremely crisp, dry
IPA overloaded with Ekuanot, Citra, and Azacca hops, which exude aromas of dank
tropical fruit, fresh citrus, and berries. There are few things in craft beer
more anticipated than what triple IPA season delivers, so we are excited to
share this amazing new beer with all our friends and guests!”
For free online issue of February, 2020 West Coaster
Beverage News click here.
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