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February 17, 2015 at 12:29pm

Washington Hop Mob Triple IPA Roadshow to park at The Red Hot

Snipes Mountain Brewing’s Hayduke the Wrencher was voted Best Triple IPA at the Hop Mob Roadshow kickoff event at Brouwer’s Café in Seattle Feb. 6. Photo courtesy of Facebook

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Hop Head. Sounds like a euphemism for a speed addict, no? Or a professional pogo stick stunt artist. Maybe a bunny-loving furry. Well, it's none of those things. Hops go in beer, and hop heads like 'em bitter. Meet some hardcore Hop Heads as they drink highly alcoholic, wonderfully hoppy triple IPAs at The Red Hot tomorrow.

A brewer of imperial IPAs, Adam Robbings of Reuben's Brews in Seattle shined a spotlight on triple IPAs last year launching the Washington Hop Mob Triple IPA Roadshow, a series of triple IPA tasting events in Western Washington. The two-week event was a smash(ed) success. This year's Hop Mob Roadshow - 30 breweries showcased at seven events driven this year by Washington's King and Queen of Beers (Kim and Kendall Jones of the Washington Beer Blog) - ends Feb. 21, but not before making its South Sound appearance tomorrow at The Red Hot.

Triple IPAs are such a new style that most national competitions don't offer a "Triple IPA" category, forcing most of the high-alcohol, hopped-to-hell beers to compete under "Imperial/Double IPA" headers. But the actual line between a double and a triple IPA is hard to draw. Some say that any IPA over 10 percent ABV should be considered a triple. Still, beers that might fit the ABV and hop-burn requirements are still labeled as a double IPA, leaving the term "triple IPA" more of a marketing preference than an official style.

"Triple IPA is a difficult style of beer to master and breweries that do it well are highly revered," says Kim Sharpe Jones in a new release. "Some out-of-state triple IPAs get an enormous amount of attention and cause beer enthusiasts to swoon like preteens at a One Direction concert. Our goal with Hop Mob is to show that Washington's brewers can produce beers that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any of those ballyhooed, out-of-state beers. Also, it's a great excuse to drink some really excellent stuff."

According to pre-event hype, "to brew a good triple IPA, brewers use a substantial amount of malted barley, which provides the elevated alcohol content. To balance-out the malty sweetness and give the beer its requisite hoppy character, brewers rely on substantial quantities of hops. In Washington, hops are more than an ingredient; they're a way of life. The Yakima Valley produces between seventy-five and eighty percent of the nation's hop crop each year and some of the farms are operated by families that have grown hops for four and five generations."

At 11 a.m. tomorrow, The Red Hot will tap 14 triple IPA kegs - all brewed in Washington state - and poured into 6-ounce glasses. Here's what to expect:

  • 7 Seas Trident 10.3%
  • Black Raven Birdserker 10.2%
  • Fremont Triple Trifecta 11.8%
  • Georgetown Kiss Ass Blaster 11.4%
  • Rainy Daze Tri-Power 11%
  • Stoup Brewing TR2 Haymaker 10.5%
  • Snipes Mountain Hayduke The Wrencher 9.3%
  • Reuben's Brews Blimey Thats Bitter 10.5%
  • Naked City Cry Me A River 10%
  • Bainbridge Brewing Hoptopus Rex 10.3%
  • Maritime Pacific Hop Surge 11.2%
  • Pike Hopulus Erectus 9.5%
  • Boundary Bay Dry Hopped IIIPA 9.7%
  • Spinnaker Bay What? A Tripp 10.9%

WASHINGTON HOP MOB TRIPLE IPA ROADSHOW, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 18, The Red Hot, 2914 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, no cover, 253.779.0229

Filed under: New Beer Column Tacoma
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About this blog

Served, a blog by the Weekly Volcano, is the region’s feedbag of fresh chow daily, local restaurant news, New Beer Column, bar and restaurant openings and closings, breaking culinary news and breaking culinary ground - all brought to the table with a dollop of Internet frivolity on top.

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