Na Zdravi !: Mind Haze IPA

Friday, March 08, 2019

Mind Haze IPA

Firestone Walker Brewing (Paso Robles, CA)

"From the coast of California comes Mind Haze, a free-spirited beer made to elevate your perceptions—juicy yet balanced, hazy yet lasting, and loaded with an imaginative array of tropical hop flavors.
In the words of Brewmaster Matt Brynildson, 'Mind Haze offers the best of what you expect from a hazy IPA. But we’re going about it a little differently, and that’s what gives Mind Haze its own unique signature. We’re finally ready to do a hazy IPA the Firestone way.'"

Delicious!
Citrus forward with a nice malty flavor in the back.
Smooth and easy drinking. Grabbed it on sale and it was canned just 1 week ago.

ABV 6.2%, IBU 40
Hops: Cashmere, Mandarina, El Dorado, Idaho 7, Azacca, Mosaic
Malt: 2-Row, White Wheat, Torrified Wheat, Munich, Golden Naked Oats

Na Zdravi!

A 10-second take.
Not really reviews, just my way to keep track of the beers I've tried.

My mother's family is Czech. They emigrated from Bohemia and settled in Nebraska in the mid-1800s.
They were from the region that included the town Pilzen (Pilsen) where a brewery called Měšťanský pivovar Plzeň, now Pilsner Urquell (Plzeňský Prazdroj in Czech), started brewing a uniquely Bohemian-style beer we now know as pilsner.
So, as I raise a glass in honor of my Bohemian roots ...

Na Zdravi! (to your health).

Hops?

A "hop" is the cone shaped resinous flower of the female hop plant. It is used in brewing to add bitterness, flavor, aroma, and stability depending on when it is added.

Hops are one of the 4 basic ingredients of beer although they are not esential in the brewing process. The are used simply to add flavor and complexity to the brew.
Double and even triple IPA's feature an extreme amount of hops, and an ABV to match.
Noble Hops - The traditional varieties of hops that were used to make early European beers. Medieval brewers used Hallertau, Saaz, Spalt, and/or Tettnang hops. All are from Germany except Saaz from the Czech Republic (Žatec in Czech). All are still used today.