Fish Brewing Company - Hodgson's Bitter End IPA

We suspect this brew is named in honor of William Hope Hodgson, an English author of fictional stories, many of which were set on the sea and invoked the many horrors of that setting, both real and fantastic. He was struck directly by an artillery shell in WWI in 1918 – a bitter end, indeed. His namesake IPA pours a lightly hazy medium amber-copper color, topped by plenty of foam which laces the glass as you drain it. On the nose, we picked up notes of citrus, namely orange and grapefruit, plus some light touches of melon, floral overtones, and a bit of aromatic wood. For us, we most enjoyed this IPA towards the upper end of our recommended temperature range. It really brought out the smooth roundness of the body and bolstered the malty core, which was quite satisfying with moderate caramel malt notes, a hint of toasty bread, and a touch of residual sweetness to provide sturdy support for the intense 71 IBUs of hop bitterness. Speaking of hops, they also make their presence known with a strong punch of herbal spice and citrus zest, and they hang on in the finish with a drying, clinging note of hop bitterness. Yet another bitter end, but this one is much more enjoyable and appropriate for sharing with friends! Cheers!

When one thinks of the epicenters of the craft beer renaissance in America, the Pacific Northwest undoubtedly springs to mind immediately. The region is the source for the vast majority of hops produced in our country and has long been home to innovative brewers at the forefront of the push to expand our palates beyond the "macrobrews" that dominated America's beer culture for so long. Fish Brewing Company in Olympia, WA is one of those brewers. Founded in 1993 by Crayne & Mary Horton and a group of local investors, Fish Brewing Company began as a brewpub on Jefferson Street with a 15-barrel brewing system. Just three short years later, demand had reached the point where it was time to grow. The brewpub was expanded and they acquired the historic Skoog Building across the street, a much larger facility able to accommodate a bottling line and allowing Fish to become a legitimate package brewery. With their brewing system relocated into the new building, their first 6-packs hit store shelves in 1997.

The succeeding years have seen a series of new business expansions. In 2001, Fish merged with Leavenworth Biers, a brewery specializing in German styles. Around 2004, they acquired Spire Mountain Cider, the oldest commercial craft cider producer in the country. And, in 2006, Fish upgraded their 15-bbl system to a new 40-bbl system, allowing much greater production capacity for their Fish Tale Ales and other brands. More recently, just last year, Fish jumped into the distilling industry with the acquisition of Grapeworks Distilling and their Vitis Spirits brand which specializes in grape-derived vodka and a line of very unique 80+ proof varietal grape spirits from Pinot Gris, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling. For more info about the brewery and related brands, their Jefferson Street brewpub, or their Taproom in Woodinville, call 360-943-6480 or visit www.fishbrewing.com.