Crucible Brewing is the newest brewery in Everett, which isn’t saying a lot since Everett has a surprisingly small amount of new breweries for being in the middle of a craft-beer-crazy landscape.
So whenever I hear new brewery and Everett in the same sentence, I know I need to see what’s going on. I visited Crucible on a recent evening last week, and since I hadn’t been before, I ordered a flight with all of their beers to decide, in my mind, which of its beers was best.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m an IPA guy. I’m an equal opportunity drinker but my go-to style is IPA. They didn’t have an IPA on tap the night I visited, but they did have a double IPA. Even though one of my favorite beers on this planet, or any planet really, is a double IPA, I generally lean toward standard IPAs as my drinking partner. That said, Crucible’s Millennium Falconer Double IPA was definitely the winner.
Brewed with Millennium and Falconer’s Flight hops, hence the name (sorry “Star Wars” fans), the beer was cloudy and gold in color. The haziness was thick enough that I couldn’t see through it. A good sign. The nose drew me in deeper. It was bright and citrusy. There was just a hint of cat pee smell as well. In my house that’s a bad thing. In my beer that’s a good thing. Seriously, I love me some cat pee smell.
So, on account of the cat pee smell, I was super excited to taste this thing. The mouthfeel was so rich it felt like it was coating my tongue. Very rich. The first tasting note was as bright as the nose would imply and very juicy. It moved into a rich sweetness. Not a cloying sweetness, but more like candied pineapple.
The taste soon turned bitter as most IPAs are known for, but that bitterness just grew and grew. It was the kind of bitter that you could taste two days later, as if you slept with a grapefruit rind in your CPAP mask.
All in all this was a great Double IPA and I can only hope for more of these crazy well-hopped beverages to come from this new brewery (I mentioned it was new, right?).
And if your beer isn’t hoppy enough, ask for the hop press (below). It’s essentially a poor man’s Randall, think French press filled with beer and hops to add a little punch to your palate. It’s a pretty cool toy and a must have if you are hard pressed for more hops.
Scott Wetzel owns Fresh Bread Design, an Arlington graphic design business that works with breweries and distilleries. Follow him on Twitter at @freshbreadd
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