(Boston, MA) – BeerPulse has learned that The Boston Beer Company will bring back a variety pack full of IPAs for a second consecutive year.
The IPA Hop-ology variety pack has a street date of around May 1st and will contain six different IPAs (two of each): Grumpy Monk Belgian IPA, Dark Depths Baltic IPA, Third Voyage Double IPA, Tasman Red IPA, Latitude 48 IPA and Whitewater IPA.
Grumpy Monk, Dark Depths and Third Voyage are each beers branded under Samuel Adams’ Small Batch Series line. While Dark Depths and Third Voyage have previously been made available in 22 oz. bottles, this will be Grumpy Monk’s debut in bottles and exclusive package in off-premise locations (no single bottles). The beer was first brewed in 2009 under a different name.
For Boston Beer, this package delivers on a few different major trends: IPA as the fastest-growing style, variety packs among the fastest-growing packages and, in general, the beer drinker’s palate becoming increasingly promiscuous. From a standpoint of scale and anticipation, the only variety pack similar to this one will be Sierra Nevada Brewing’s Beer Camp variety pack, also slated for spring.
Boston Beer released the Latitude 48 IPA variety pack featuring single hop beers last spring.
More info on Grumpy Monk below…
Label copy: “The long held brewing traditions of Belgian monks aren’t meant to be broken. Yet, to the monk’s dismay, the distinctive character of Belgian yeast with its spicy clove and fruit notes can be reimagined when combined with the brazen hop character of an IPA. These hops impart a citrusy, piney and earthy flavor that’s balanced by a roasted malt sweetness for a complex and playful brew.”
The beer is made with a mix of five malts: 2-row Harrington, Metcalf and Copeland Pale malts; Bohemian Pils malt and honey malt and six hops: Ahtanum, Simcoe, Cascade, Amarillo, Fuggles and Saaz. 5.7% ABV.
