I chose to mark IPA Day with a triple IPA by Strike Brewing, from San Jose (California).
Triple Play is part of Strike’s regular line up of beers. Unlike other breweries, who release triple IPA’s only once or twice a year, Strike makes Triple Play available year-round.
When poured into the glass, Triple Play offers a rocky white head that quickly subsides to less than ΒΌ inch. Lacing, which quickly breaks apart, is prominent on the sides of the glass. The beer is golden, tending more toward copper than straw in color. It is transluscent, with a bit of haze throughout, but not enough to render it wholly opaque.
It is not very hoppy in the aroma, but the West Coast notes of Citra hops are evident up front. It is effervescent in the mouth, and has a mild background sweetness. It is sursprisingly light in body, given that it is a triple. The bitternesss is well balanced with the sweetness, and does not overwhelm the malt nor one’s palate.
I taste stone fruit –yellow peach, or perhaps apricot– with a touch of lime zest at the very back end, after swallowing.
Given it’s light-bodied and not cloying nature, at 10% abv Triple Play goes down with dangerous ease.