When I was a young & impressionable beer snob, one of the first microbrews I latched onto was original recipe RED HOOK ESB (read about “The Day I Discovered Real Beer” here), and it became a favorite for years. I sought out other flavors of theirs soon thereafter, and in the early 90s there was a sub-brand called Red Hook BALLARD BITTER, which, in an effort to expand beyond Seattle environs, was renamed RED HOOK IPA sometime in the 1990s. Well, the Ballard Bitter I remember from back in the day was pretty good (and I bought it all the time!), but I still enjoyed the ESB quite a bit better, but having quaffed a draft Red Hook IPA the other evening in 2006, I have to say – jesus fellas, what happened? This is a fair-to-poor IPA, lacking any real discerning features at all except for blandness, and is hardly representative of the revolution in US-conjured India Pale Ales going on the past 5 years. It’s as if they were left in a figurative cloud of dust as the Moylans, Dogfish Heads and Russian Rivers left them behind with their sooo-20th century formulation. And I hate to say it, but this particular IPA tastes like something Budweiser or Coors would put forth as a bold new product, which would 9 times out of 10 taste like a weak approximation of a true craft beer. 4.5/10, generously – and I’m not trying it again. Still love that ESB, though.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
RED HOOK IPA – WHAT HAPPENED, GUYS?
When I was a young & impressionable beer snob, one of the first microbrews I latched onto was original recipe RED HOOK ESB (read about “The Day I Discovered Real Beer” here), and it became a favorite for years. I sought out other flavors of theirs soon thereafter, and in the early 90s there was a sub-brand called Red Hook BALLARD BITTER, which, in an effort to expand beyond Seattle environs, was renamed RED HOOK IPA sometime in the 1990s. Well, the Ballard Bitter I remember from back in the day was pretty good (and I bought it all the time!), but I still enjoyed the ESB quite a bit better, but having quaffed a draft Red Hook IPA the other evening in 2006, I have to say – jesus fellas, what happened? This is a fair-to-poor IPA, lacking any real discerning features at all except for blandness, and is hardly representative of the revolution in US-conjured India Pale Ales going on the past 5 years. It’s as if they were left in a figurative cloud of dust as the Moylans, Dogfish Heads and Russian Rivers left them behind with their sooo-20th century formulation. And I hate to say it, but this particular IPA tastes like something Budweiser or Coors would put forth as a bold new product, which would 9 times out of 10 taste like a weak approximation of a true craft beer. 4.5/10, generously – and I’m not trying it again. Still love that ESB, though.
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3 comments:
What happened is that Anheuser Busch bought them. Yet another triumph for Repiglican enterprise!
the head brewer from red hook (nh), steve schmidt, is brewing similar styles with alot more oomph, creativity, and freedom at a brewpub in granby, ct called cambridge house. go there for the esb and ipa and you will have a taste of what you remembered about the good old days.
jim
Wow, my thoughts exactly. I do enjoy the ESB, but Dogfish Head dismantles their IPA, that's fo sho.
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