Another Piece of the Puzzle

As Elaine Benes of Seinfeld fame would say, "And another piece of the puzzle falls into place." This new Dogfish/Sierra Nevada IPA glass keeps taking odder turns by the day. I don't particularly care for it or for the fact that its creators are hailing it as the new standard for drinking IPA's. Then again, I'm a really stubborn person.

Debate continues on Twitter concerning this new glass. I have a few more tidbits to share with any of you that haven't come across this information already. There was a small discourse I caught on my timeline yesterday. It looks as if this new IPA glass isn't as unprecedented as it's being made out to be.

.@brewkkake @blakex Funny. That brand is actually owns the company that DFH and SN "collaborated on the design" of their IPA glass with.
— Craft Pittsburgh Mag (@CraftPittsburgh) February 14, 2013

@dogfishbeer queencitydrinks.com/2013/02/14/bee…
— Blake Kunisch (@blakex) February 14, 2013

Dogfish replied to this exchange by saying that the stem is the same, but the bowl is actually different. Now, if you take that and read what Craft Pittsburgh posted through its Facebook feed you'll discover that Dogfish and Sierra Nevada possibly might have just updated an already-existing wine glass.

The Queen City Drinks link in the embedded tweet above includes a side-by-side comparison with the new glass and a shaker pint. The results are pretty much what I stated in yesterday's post. Visually appealing, but it's still the same beer in both glasses.

Very Complimentary

I obviously wasn't too thrilled with Bell's Hopslam ale when I got the opportunity to try it last year. I can't say there wasn't any lack in my effort to get myself a glass, because I was in the bar the day after it was tapped. I just didn't like it, as is the usual result when I have a beer that's very hop-centric.

I made a promise to someone that I'd try this year's version and I must give credit where it's due. This year's batch had many more flavors other than just the intense hops! I was actually able to taste some honey and a touch of fruitiness. There even was a tad of malt in there. A completely different experience compared to the one I had last year. Every flavor I picked up was complimentary of the rest of the brew. The beer's color seems to be a bit darker as well.

I still don't see myself buying a case of Hopslam yet (that's if there are even any left), but myself and this beer are on somewhat better terms. This post originally was supposed to be about the new IPA glass tossed out there by Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada, but I wasn't quite sure if it was a great idea to ruffle everyone's feathers. A lot of users on Twitter didn't seem to happy about it being named the "standard for hop-centric beers." I certainly don't need the bitterness of hops in my beer to magically become stronger.

Sorry. I don't need an IPA glass to "amplify the hops." Some are a struggle to drink as it is.
— Bill K. (@BurghBeerSnob) February 5, 2013