Every now and then, there comes a beer that gets the beer geeks very excited indeed.
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One the recent ones was Pineapple Sculpin, an IPA from California’s Ballast Point Brewing Company.
Their base Sculpin (like most Ballast Point beers, it’s named after a fish) is popular with beer geeks.
They also have a grapefruit version, which curiously didn't whip up the same level of excitement with the geeks.
Whether it’s grapefruit or pineapple, adding this flavouring to the IPA isn’t weird or stupid.
The hops used in IPAs tend to throw those sorts of flavours anyway, so adding grapefruit or pineapple tends to accentuate that character.
Nor does the flavour addition make for a sweet beer. I’m talking more about the pineapple here – grapefruit is never going to make anything sweeter.
In the Pineapple Sculpin, the fruit flavour is definitely there but it’s wrapped up in the beer rather than being the focal point.
I found this beer also highlights why an IPA is best drunk as soon as possible after purchase.
Being one of those excited beer geeks, I bought a six-pack of it straight away (from Dan Murphy’s, who has suddenly started stocking a range of Ballast Point beers).
I cracked open the first beer that night and it was lovely, with the pineapple flavour working well.
I had another a few weeks later and it simply wasn’t as good.
That’s because hops are the dominant character in IPAs and they tend to degrade relatively quickly – in part because of the exposure to light the bottles get (yes, brown bottles provide better protection but some light still gets through).
So if you find some fresh stock, make sure you buy it and enjoy it quickly.
But as if you need to be prompted to drink a beer now rather than later.
Glen Humphries is the 2016 AIBA Australian Beer Writer of the Year.