Double Red IPA by Mountain Culture

For this week’s beer we move away from Tasmania for the moment.  Instead, we head to the Blue Mountains of New South Wales and Mountain Beer Co’s Double Red IPA.

Mountain Culture is a fairly new brewer (opening just last year).  But jeez they’ve come out swinging.  Perusing their beer roster, you’ll find Milk Oat NEIPA’s, Imperial Russian Stouts, even something intriguingly called a Baked Pastry Stout.  All of those are definitely on my list to sample.  But my first introduction to Mountain Culture was their Double Red IPA.

Whenever you see the words ‘double’ and ‘IPA’ in the name of a beer, you think hops, hops, hops, and more hops.  And while this one does have a good kick, it’s not the hop blast to the fact you might expect (especially considering the 8% ABV).  It’s an extremely balanced beer.  If anything, it’s the rich, sweet malts that steal the show.  The word caramel-y definitely springs to mind.  But again, this is double red IPA so the hops are by no means fading into the background.  They’re still there in spades, but almost as the support act to the malts.

In general, I’m a huge fan of both red IPA’s and very hoppy beers.  And there’s usually a pretty solid overlap between those categories.  My favourite red IPA’s are really hoppy ones like Capital’s Evil Red Eye, Six String’s Dark Red, Fox Hat’s Red Pelt, and Last Rites’ Puddle Maker. 

But lately, I’ve been discovering an affinity for red IPA’s that are definitely still hoppy, but not quite at the kick-you-in-the-teeth hoppy level I usually love.  More malty and balance red IPA’s like Quakers Hat’s Red Rye, Bad Shepherd’s Red IPA, Ocho’s Red, and now Mountain Culture’s Double Red IPA have definitely carved out a place in my beery heart.  It’s clearly just a well done, delicious beer that would appeal to fans of most crafty beer genres out there.