Does your love covet extreme IPAs?
If so, take him, or her, to Special Brews in Lynnwood on Valentine’s Day. The Washington Hop Mob Triple IPA Roadshow makes its only stop in Snohomish County when it brings some seriously hoppy beers to the specialty beer shop on Saturday. The triple IPAs will be pouring from 11 a.m. to close.
The second annual Hop Mob Triple IPA Roadshow, a two-week celebration of the hoppiest of all Washington-brewed beer styles, kicked off last Friday. More than 30 Washington breweries are producing special batches of triple IPAs. Sixteen breweries will be pouring their triple IPAs at the Special Brews’ event.
“Triple IPA is a difficult style of beer to master and breweries that do it well are highly revered,” said Kim Sharpe Jones of the Washington Beer Blog, which is helping organize and promote the events.
Brewers use a substantial amount of malted barley to brew a triple IPA, which elevates the alcohol content (most triple IPAs have an ABV above 10 percent). To balance the malty sweetness and give the beer its requisite hoppy character, brewers use lots and lots of hops.
The food truck Wicked Pies will be on hand from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for those that get hungry.
Here’s a look at the triple IPAs pouring at Saturday’s event:
Whiny the Complainer (Cask), Big Time Brewery, Seattle; 9.1 percent; Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, Magnum, Amarillo and Simcoe hops
Hoptopus Rex Triple IPA, Bainbridge Brewing, Bainbridge; 10.5 percent, 100 IBU; Cascade, Amarillo and Belma hops.
Boot Toss Triple IPA, Wander Brewing, Bellingham; 10.3 percent, 100-plus IBU; Falconer’s Flight 7Cs, Columbus and Summit hops.
Full Spectrum IIIPA, Populuxe Brewery, Ballard; 10 percent, 100 IBU; Citra and Amarillo with a touch of Columbus hops.
Blimey that’s Bitter!, Reuben’s Brews, Ballard; 10.5 percent, 80 IBU; Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo hops.
Trifecta Triple IPA, Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop; 11.5 percent, 100 IBU, Warrior, Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic and Equinox hops.
Hogus Maximus Triple IPA, Postdoc Brewing, Redmond; 11.1 percent, 100-plus IBU, Centennial, Columbus, and Simcoe hops.
Triple Trifecta, Fremont Brewing, Seattle; 11.8 percent, 100-plus IBU; Sorachi Ace and Amarillo hops.
Birdserker Triple IPA, Black Raven Brewing, Redmond; 10.4 percent, 100-plus IBU; Apollo, Bravo, Nugget, Comet, Cascade, Palisade and Calypso hops.
T2R Haymaker III IPA, Stoup Brewing, Ballard; 10.5 percent, 90 IBU; Simcoe, Equinox, Summit, Citra, Mosaic, Palisades, Falconer’s Flight and Columbus hops.
What a Tripp?, Spinnaker Bay, Seattle; 11.9 percent, Coumbus, Centenniel and Citra hops.
DarthPA Triple Black IPA, Strong Arm, Renton; 11.5 percent, 120 IBU; Warrior, Simcoe, Columbus, Citra, Amarillo and Cascade hops.
Cry Me A River, Naked City, Seattle; 10.2 percent, 100-plus IBU; Amarillo, Citra, and Falconer’s Flight hops.
Kiss Ass Blaster IPA, Georgetown, Seattle; 11.4 percent, 80 IBU; Simcoe and Amarillo hops.
Big Rufus Imperial IPA, Foggy Noggin, Bothell; 10.3 percent, 97 IBU; Magnum and Target hops.
King Hippo Triple IPA, Elysian Brewing, Seattle; 9.7 percent, 92 IBU; Amarillo, Citra, El Dorado and Belma hops.
Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle is hosting another Hop Mob event at 2 p.m.Feb. 16.
The Hop Mob finale is at Pike Brewing in Seattle on Feb. 21. Tickets are $18, which gets you a sample tray of six 4-ounce samples of your choice.
Aaron Swaney: 425-339-3430; aswaney@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @swaney_aaron79. Follow the Hops and Sips blog at www.heraldnet.com/hopsandsips.
If you go
Hop Mob Triple IPA Roadshow event at Special Brews, 14608 Highway 99, Suite 307, Lynnwood, starting 11 a.m. Saturday. For more information, visit www.special-brews.com or www.wahopmob.com.
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