Knee Deep Brewing Co. Simtra Triple IPA

Thank goodness. After the abomination on my taste buds that was the prior review (Olde English... I shuddered typing that), this is a very welcome change to my palate. So, our day started by crawling out of bed mid-morning, and as soon as I brewed the coffee, there was a knock at the door. It was none other than Jimmy and Bret, planning a post-breakfast Kape-Shad invasion. They came bearing Hopslam. They quickly rose to the top of my esteemed colleagues and dearest friends. We proceeded to drink the beer in our fridge (Yuengling), and then the boys went on a beer run. The brought back PBR (ok, I'm totally down with that), a Genny Cream Ale and an Olde English. Ugh on the last. Seriously, I think my tastebuds were more affronted than Anita Hill was by Clarence Thomas was in the 1990's. Anyway, after consuming a couple of PBR's midday, we headed over to Bret's house. Oh, who am I kidding, it's really Britlerhaven these days. On our way there, we stopped down the road at one of our favorite stores, Savor (nee Clintonville  Market).

According to the co-owner at Savor, this brewing company is very new to Columbus, I think he said within the last ten days or so. We spied this, and knew it was right up our alley. Simtra? We presume a combination of our two favorite hop strains, Simcoe and Citra... and it bills itself as a Triple IPA, with 131 IBU's. Oh yes, I'm in! Mind you, "triple IPA" is an arbitrary assignment by the brewer, but still, it just promises rainbows and unicorns once you uncap it.

It pours a medium orange color with a very pale off-white colored head that doesn't stick around too long, probably because it's "barely legal" (in Ohio) at 11.25% ABV. The lacing is fantastic. Solid alcohol legs. Pure grapefruit and citrus in the nose, perhaps with just a tinge of pine also. This is one of the most complex hop bombs I've had... differently complex than my other love, Hopslam. The foretaste is all grapefruit... the middle is almost honey-sweet, and straight up pine needles on the backside, like the prettiest porcupine you've ever put in your mouth. The mouthfeel, to me, is straight-up silk.

Oh. My. Goddess. I'm in love. Thank you for being the complete antithesis to OE, which was precisely what I had hoped.

Apparently the brewery is out of Lincoln, CA. Welcome to Columbus. And Ohio. And my mouth (insert "that's what she said" joke here). We paid $8.99 for a 22-ounce bomber.

5/5 caps

-Jennie

Oh... I see, so now I'm the asshole because I bought cheap beer to review... but mind you- I also bought this.

Simtra. Oh, Simtra. You were exactly what we thought you were- according to Knee Deep's website- Simcoe and Citra. If you were a woman, I would imagine you'd look like a combination of Emma Stone, Megan Fox (pre-dating douche and popping out a child), Kiera Knightley, and Natalie Portman. You would break hearts and make mouths water. You have half of that right now. In between each sip, my mouth craves your caress, your loving blast of hoppiness.

I understand why this brew has a 100 rating on Ratebeer and a 95 on Beeradvocate.. This is just simply amazing. As Jennie said, the initial taste is grapefruit fading to piney on the back. It's crazy because you never stop tasting hops. It's a complex brew that perfectly fades between all the different hop characteristics that leaves you wanting more. The alcohol (being rather high at 11.25%) is not noticed at all. This is bad for one reason. I could be drinking this- it goes down smoother than the chicks (Simpson's reference about 'Peeps' marshmallow things)- then wham the alcohol sneaks up on me, kicks me in my male genitalia, and leaves me crying like a little girl scout who's cookies were just stolen. This frightens and intrigues me at the same time... I'm already feeling a hell of a nice, warm, almost wine like buzz from this (instead of a typical 'eh, I'm drunk' beer buzz. The wine buzz is nice and warm feeling that makes me put on my fuzzy pajama pants and hug everyone and everything, but I digress).

I really have nothing to add to this other than I hope to try other selections from this brewery in the near future, and if you've made it this far in the review, you should go and buy a bottle of this.

5/5 caps

-Nathan