Hub City Brewing Company - Paradise Ale

Hub City describes their new Paradise Ale as a “tropical IPA”, so we were expecting a fruity-hopped and refreshing brew, and we weren’t disappointed. This brew pours a bright, hazy, orange-gold with a white head. There’s a decent amount of yeast sediment, which you can let settle to the bottom of the bottle and carefully avoid, or swirl up and add to your glass, which is what we decided to do. On the nose are notes of citric and lightly grassy American hops, overlaying a mild and pleasant hint of malt sweetness. It opens on the palate with a combination of bitterness and citric fruit flavors. Both qualities intensify on the midpalate as Paradise Ale really becomes a showcase for the luscious flavor profile of its four different hop varietals while being firmly, but not bracingly, bitter. Look for hop flavors of lemon, grapefruit, orange, a subtle hint of pineapple, and an underlying herbal spiciness. The simple malt profile provides a good backbone while allowing the hops to take center stage, and there’s an earthy quality due to the yeast in suspension. Finishes with a lingering bitterness and a distinctly citric acidity, haunted by ghostly herbal impressions. Cheers!

When Brian Knoke’s sons bought him a Mr. Beer homebrew kit several years ago for Christmas, they thought it would be a fun and rather whimsical gift. Little did they know that gift would ignite a passion and become the start of a whole new family journey into the craft beer renaissance. In 2007, when Brian and Gloria Knoke decided it was time to move on and do something different after farming for more than thirty years, they naturally turned to their hobbies of brewing beer and making wine. A former teacher, Brian had asked a former student of his named Todd Larson to be on the lookout for a brewing system, and when Todd called one day with the details of a used 15-barrel system for sale in Ohio, the Knoke’s were excited – but they had just four hours to decide if they would commit. Not only was the system much larger than they were looking for, wine-making was beginning to take off in Iowa and they had been watching winery after winery open their doors. Despite the surging wine industry, they decided to commit fully to their vision of bringing craft beer to more people in Iowa and throughout the Midwest, and they pulled the trigger on the brewing system. In spring of 2007 they began the process of renovating their barn and hog shed and turning it into a proper brewery. They installed the brewing system and set about perfecting recipes in 5-gallon batches. By Christmas of that year, production was underway and the first beers were being delivered to customers. A truly family affair, the Knokes’ son B.J. is a graduate of Chicago’s world-famous Seibel Institute of Technology and World Beer Academy, and serves as brewmaster, while their other son, Greg, handles marketing and graphic design. Located just outside the city of Oelwein, Iowa, which was chosen by the Chicago Great Western Railway in 1892 to be their major Corn Belt hub and repair center, Hub City Brewing Company was named in honor of this railroading history and the romance of its heyday. For more info on their tasting room and brewery tours, contact them at (319) 283-7369, or visit their website at www.hubcitybrewingcompany.com.