We also love to combine making art and writing reviews/blogs. As I have a deadline for a piece later this week that I'm drastically behind on, beer reviews are a perfect accompaniment for this lovely Monday evening. Hence, we bring you Lager Heads Brewery's High Five IPA. Lager Heads is based out of Medina, OH, and we were stationed next to them during the Microbrew Craft Beer Festival at the North Market back in September. Nathan actually poured some for them to give their brewery rep a brief break. We had this then, and I can't wait to try it again.
It pours a deep amber color, darker than most IPAs. It also poured with a really big, fluffy head that is a rather pale ecru. It's a 7.5% ABV, 100 IBU beast. As it warms a bit, the pine in the nose is really coming through. It's pine and citrus atop a strong caramel base. The flavor is quite tasty and mirrors the aroma. It starts off piney, fades to the caramel notes from the malts, and then as you swallow your mouthful, it dries out a lot and pine comes back to blast you in the face. Or, to be more true to the beer, the pine comes back to high-five your tongue. There is also a lovely underpinning of lychee that comes out as it warms. It's well carbonated and a little sticky feeling.
I had some misgivings of the quality of an IPA that a brewery with the name "Lager" in it could produce. All misgivings are erroneous, and this is a rather solid, pretty impressive IPA. I want to find more from Lager Heads. I want to travel to Medina to visit the brewery. I want to give each of the brewers high fives and keep drinking this tasty quaff.
4.6/5 caps
-Jennie
At the Microbrew Fest, we were assisting Angelo from Barley's (see our reviews on the Infinity Grand Cru and Hoptoberfest). Next to us, a rep from Heidelberg Distributing was at post for Lagerheads, apparently, we just missed the brewmaster. I started shooting the breeze with him (and for the life of me, I can't remember his name), decided, as an avid hop head, to get a sample of the High Five IPA. 100 IBUs, I couldn't resist. I needed this beer in my olfactory senses and in my mouth. It was good, it was really good. I filled in for the guy while he went on a bathroom break and decided to have fun with people (as that's what I do). There was a bearded man who came up and said 'Hey man, can I get a high five?', my instant reply was to raise my hand up and say 'Alright man!..... oh, you wanted the beer.' He got a kick out of that. Enough with memories, onto this hop beast.
I was ecstatic when Jennie brought this home. I had no idea that this was a bottled selection. This poured a rather dark copper color, almost like a 1980's penny that's been well circulated. Darker than what I normally think of when I think IPA. There was big, fluffy pale-caramel colored head that dissipated quickly. The aroma on this is fantastic. Big piney aroma with some citrus sneaking in with some light tropical fruit and unidentifiable sweetness (toffee? caramel? I'm not sure as the hop aroma is dominating). Onto the taste. The taste is similar to the aroma. Pine and citrus flavors blast you up front followed by caramel. Following the slight sweetness, you're reminded again why this is 100 IBUs as the hops sneak back into the forefront with citrus and pine, taking turns assaulting your tastebuds with flavor and resiny stickiness. This drinks smooth, but has a dry, resiny finish to it. This is damn good. It makes me wish we had more than just this sampling. My only quarrel with this (and this is just my personal opinion, as always, go out, try this and form your own) is the malty sweetness in the middle is too much for my personal palate.
4.7/5 caps
-Nathan-
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