In the last few years it’s been difficult to keep up the number of new breweries popping up in these parts. One that’s been around a bit longer is Stillwater’s Lift Bridge Brewery featured in this episode of Brewing TV:
With a solid lineup of beers that’s been slowly but surely expanding, Lift Bridge has become an established presence on the local scene. One that I imagine is going to last even if the current craft beer bubble does at some point burst. Our Beer of the Week is Lift Bridge’s Hop Dish IPA.
Six pack of twelve ounce bottles retails for $9.99. Label is a departure from previous Lift Bridge looks with a rather simple yet sharp design with olive green, yellow, red, and brown colors.
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME: 7.50%
COLOR (0-2): Light golden brown and mostly clear. 2
AROMA (0-2): Lots of piney, citrusy hops. 2
HEAD (0-2): Bright white, moderate volume. 2
TASTE (0-5): Taste mostly follows the smell with hop flavors of pine, grapefruit, and mango upfront. There are sweet caramel malt flavors as well which provide more balance than many IPAs. Medium bodied with good carbonation. Mouthfeel is oily and smooth. Good drinkability with the heat largely muted. 4
AFTERTASTE (0-2): Bitterness at the finish that follows through. 2
OVERALL (0-6): A really nice IPA that offers more balance and smoothness than usually found in the style. It’s by no means a big hop bomb, yet still brings enough tasty hop flavors to satisfy. Another welcome addition to the Minnesota beer scene from Lift Bridge. 4
TOTAL SCORE (0-19): 16
