VALLEY BREWING’s “UBERHOPPY”

There’s this brewery based out in Stockton, CA, a few hours from San Francisco called VALLEY BREWING. Normally those of us in “the city” wouldn’t be paying much proactive attention to breweries from the Central Valley when there are such riches & abundance here at home. That’s not a snob talking, that’s a realist (I promise). But various writers, beer enthusiasts and beers chefs have been repeatedly making the case for this guy Steve Altimari and his VALLEY BREWING over the past year as being something special. Not often finding myself in Stockton, nor having found Steve’s creations on tap in the Bay Area, I had to wait until he started bottling and distributing his wares out my way. Thankfully the other day I espied a 22-ounce bottle of something called UBERHOPPY from Valley Brewing at my local bottle shop. Now uberhops – that’s a sentiment I can get behind.

VALLEY BREWING UBERHOPPY is just as good as the pundits said. It’s a delicious double IPA, with a thick, foamy “two-finger” head, and a really deep citrus taste. Not “fruity”, mind you, and perhaps hopped not beyond belief, yet certainly beyond reason. It’s an exceptionally fresh, bitter biter of a beer – very rich and thick in its mouthfeel, and puckering on the aftertaste. Hopheads will of course be delighted. They’ll come for the hops and stay for the fresh, deep citrus flavor. Totally ready to sign up for whatever Altimari and the Valley Brewing crew get into bottles next. 8.5/10.