Russian River Brewing Co. Blind Pig IPA
Russian River Brewing is perhaps the most interesting, split-personality brewing company in the country right now. On the one hand they brew their very successful “wild ales”, including Temptation, Sanctification, and Beatification. On the other are their just as very successful hoppy beers, namely Blind Pig and Pliny The Elder (and the seasonally produced Pliny The Younger).
The beers occupying these two poles are the ones that you most often hear about when Russian River comes up on the web or in discussions. But aside from these they also brew up some great Belgian-style beers, including the excellent Damnation, and a host of good-to-great one-offs and year-round beers. Basically, Russian River is brewing up a whole host of great beers, many of which you’ll need to go directly to the brewpub to sample, and some of which are available in limited distribution throughout the western states.
And so, sadly, I’ve only had a couple of opportunities in the past to taste Russian River’s brews. On a trip out to California several years ago we rounded up a few bottles of Temptation, Sanctification, and Damnation. And during our recent trip out west we went to their brewpub and did things right, sampling through that day’s entire lineup. It’s good there were 3 of us, since this worked out to about 20 samples!
Russian River had begun bottling Blind Pig and Pliny The Elder after our previous trips out west, and so tasting, and picking up a bottle or two, of those beers was high on my list of things to do during our recent trip. Since we’d been out west, my interest in IPAs had really blossomed, and so both of these beers stood near the top of the “must-try IPAs” list.
Shortly after our return trip home we opened up the Blind Pig IPA to give it a whirl. It seemed only right to sample this one before Pliny The Elder. Blind Pig rolls in at 6% from an original gravity of 1.060, with 72 IBUs loaded in there. A BU:GU ration of 1.2:1 – no fooling around here. This promised to be a very hoppy experience.
The beer pours golden amber, crystal clear, with a fluffy white head, that leaves a medium amount of lacing on the glass. Notes of grapefruit and citrus dominate the nose, accompanied by a a touch of sweet malt. But really, the opening salvo from Blind Pig speaks volumes about the amount of hops in the beer (and the likely amount of dry-hopping Russian River does with it). The palate is solid with plenty of body and prickly carbonation. Flavors of sweet malt kick off first, laying down a solid foundation. The hops come in waves after that, first lemon-lime citrus, followed by pine and resin. There is definitely loads of bitterness, but the effect is mellowed somewhat by the solid malt backbone. The palate is fairly dry with flavors of cotton candy malt and citrusy hops, with lots of lingering bitterness.
Blind Pig is not exactly balanced, but not too far from it either. The bitterness really comes in on the second half of the palate, but then doesn’t give up its stranglehold. Definitely a vehicle for hops. Given my expectations for Pliny The Elder really really bringing the hops, this was a good step into Russian River’s hoppy beers. I also have to admit that I’ve been enjoying maltier beers lately, and so the malt backbone in this one was very welcome. Overall, a great beer, and one to seek out the next time you head out west.
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