Tommyknocker Brewery - IPA & A Half

Tommyknocker developed their IPA & A Half to offer a bit more oomph than a traditional IPA (like their Pickaxe IPA) without straying into the territory of double/imperial IPA. As such, the IBUs are elevated compared to most IPAs, but are not quite as high as the 90-100+ that we often see from contemporary double IPAs. IPA & A Half pours a copper-amber color with a sizeable head of foam which coasts the glass with sticky lace as it slowly recedes to a permanent ring. It’s quite a fragrant brew, offering floral and herbal-spicy notes overtop undertones of caramel malts. Look also for aromas of candied citrus, a touch of stone fruit, noticeable pine, earth, and maybe even a subtle wisp of vanilla. In the flavor department, there’s plenty of malt backbone, which is necessary when hopping to the tune of 87 IBU, delivering caramel and light toast notes. But, hops are, of course, the main attraction; five different varieties work together to offer notes of citrus zest akin to grapefruit, orange, and lemon, along with a bold herbal character and very firm bitterness which lingers on the tongue for quite a while in the finish. Cheers!

The Tommyknocker Brewery was founded as a brewpub in 1994 (which coincidentally is also the year we started The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club) at an elevation of about 7500 feet in the old mining town of Idaho Springs, CO. The town, which is about a 40 mile drive west of downtown Denver, was founded in 1859 during the Colorado gold rush, and it is this mining history that the brewery latched on to when crafting their brand identity. Tommyknockers are mythical creatures, not unlike leprechauns, that are purported to live underground and signal to miners when a collapse is imminent by making knocking sounds in the rock. They also get blamed sometimes when tools malfunction or go missing.

We can’t verify if tommyknockers are responsible for swiping miners’ tools when they aren’t looking, but we can tell you that they do know how to make some good beers in their spare time. In fact, they’ve been collecting awards since 1995 from both the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. If you’re ever traveling through the Rockies on I-70 near Denver, it’s well-worth stopping at the brewpub for a buffalo burger and a fresh brew on draft. Harnessing pure snow melt water from the Rockies, the brewery produces a very broad range of year-round and seasonal beers (over 20 by our count) as well as a line of sodas including orange, strawberry, and almond cremes as well as root beer. We'll let you discover those on your own and stick to what we do best: Beer! For more information about the brewery and brewpub, call 303-567-4419 or check out their web site at www.tommyknocker.com.