Viven Imperial IPA

So I’m watching Supernatural. it seems that Sam and Dean area fighting demon cowboys or something related to time travel. Cowboys are getting toasted up by some bad guy demon, perhaps a Phoenix. Really not sure, but that is the beauty of Supernatural. Not making a whole lot of sense, but that’s what I like about Supernatural, it doesn’t need to make sense to be enjoyable.

The beer I’m drinking does happen to make sense though. Not certain about the name of the brewery though. Its Viven. The dyslexic in me has misread this a number of times as Vivian, the name that has a girly sound to it but as the great West Indian cricketer, a man no one could call girly shared the name I guess I must be wrong. The only other Viv I know is a bloke I went to primary school with. Last I heard he was driving trucks in the NSW Riverina. Again not very girly. Fitting then that the beer is an Imperial IPA, especially since we have established that the name Vivian, or its near cousin Viven is not girly at all. What a relief.

Now to the beer. I know bugger all about the beer or the brewery other than its an 8% ABV US style Imperial IPA and according to the bottle it has something to do with “the art of Flemish brewing”. This is a Belgian beer, but not as we know it. Their website can be found here, Viven Website . It seems they started off with a view to being a monastic brewer, may have had a building or two blessed, made a beer with a traditional twang then mooved on to the newer style of beers, hence the Imperial US IPA. Thats about all I know.

Its a full beer, plenty of crystal, and a fair whack of high alpha American hops. I think there is a better than even chance there is some Simcoe in there, that evil skunky hop that I love so much. Its more of a bitter beer than a big aromatic beer. Clean though, without a lingering after taste. This is a pretty good beer but does at no stage set the world on fire. There is something awesome about an IPA that gets it right, when it has a nice clean malt profile, and an overbalance of hops. Thats right I want to many hops, but at the flavor end rather than the bitterness end. Ah Hop Zombie, you have ruined me for other IPA’s.

Its not what I’d pick for an everyday drinker, but still a beer worth having a crack at. 

Oh and Dean just killed some kind of cowboy demon who promptly caught fire when he was shot. I am glad my Viven Imperial IPA did not do the same when I opened it, effectively ending its life. Its good that beers aren’t demons. Life would be very complicated if they were.

Got to go now, Supernatural is over but there is a world of bad TV, and IPA’s out there.

Cheers D

Good Beer Week stuff No. 2 & the Hop Zombie

While tonight was the 3rd night of Good Beer Week it was only the second night I ventured out and did good beer week stuff. The nearest I went to doing Good Beer Week stuff last night was singing the Good News Week Song as “It’s Good Beer Week….. insert random beer stuff here” but that doesn’t really count.

Tonight the plan was to go to Young and Jackson, catch Hendo for a beer or two and then head to Cookie for some Hop Zombie. Unfortunatley I don’t plan things well so when I got to Young and Jackson it looked to be a closed or ticketed event so I headed up to Cookie instead of trying to get around the door bitch. I later found out all you had to do was agree to go on a mailing list and you got free entry and beer. I could have done that but I do have to admit I don’t read or like Beer and Brewer Magazine so no big loss to me.

So to Cookie. I like this bar, they specialise in getting drunk people drunker as an old boss once told me. I can agree with that from personal experience. Back in about 2004 or 05 I needed some catch up drinks to get me on a level playing field with some friends who had been drinking all arvo. The set me onto some polish vodka that then saw me not only catch up but go straight past them. I think the stuff was called Spiritos?

Anyway, Cookie. They were not at all set to deal with a bunch of beer nerds rocking in to get some Hop Zombie, the IPA from Epic. I got there a bit early and the place was full of the regular city dwellers eating dinner, having coctails etc. And then the beer nerds started rocking in.

Hop Zombie was turned on at 7pm so I had a Bridge Rd Black Breakfast larger to start off. A great beer, roasty and chocolaty with a real nice weight to it. Kind of a big swartz beer. It was served a little too cold but I would happily have many more of these beers. I’m not sure what was in this beer but believe it included things like toast, muesli, coffee and other breakfast stuff. That would have been a fun brew day.

But back to the Hop Zombie. All of a sudden, just before 7pm a bunch of people in Hop Zombie and Epic t-shirts arrived. Then some sort of cue started, there appeared to be vouchers and t-shirts. As I said the place wasn’t set for beer, there was bugger all room and beer nerds kept flowing in. Anyway I got in the t-shirt and token line or huddle as it was for my t-shirt and pint package. A good deal in all, making either the shirt or the pint cheap. I don’t know, maths and ecceconomics are not my thing.

Now to the beer. Firstly you could smell the hops, a mix of what I’m guessing was centenial, amaraillo, cascade and maybe simcoe floating across the bar. That’s a big thing in Cookie, its a big place with Asian food, cocktails and a shitload of people. Now what did it taste like? no first the appearance. A light golden and very bright beer, not the big crystal bomb that would have made me sad. To the taste. I like it, its all hops and not to much of the bitterness. I don’t doubt that this would be a solid IBU level beer (70 or better?) but it didn’t have a massive bitterness. It did have a huge nose and hop and flavour. I’m going to put it in the same ball park as my Union Jack IPA Clone (its a better beer than mine) so am thinking its got a lot of late and dry hops.

I have no idea how long this beer will be around or where you will get it other than Cookie tonight. So get up and go there now!

That will do for now.

Oh forgot to mention I had a beer with J-Lo, it was a Kilkenny at the Bridey O’Rileys on Little Collins St. I suppose that counts as part of Good Beer Week too. Also I think I need to note that I’ve seen a few people at multiple Good Beer Week events, it seems its going well and serving a bunch of good beers to good people. I like it, shame I’m not more organised and its not on more often. Still its not over yet. Neither is “Sons of Anarchy”, dam this show is good. Watch it (drinking a good beer of course). 

Cheers D