Grapevine Brewing Co.'s New IPA is a Late Summer Surprise

For beer drinkers living in Dallas, we are living in a glorious time. With over 20 Breweries in the Dallas/For. Worth area (and more on the way), it's not hard to find a local beer that suits your palate. For those who love IPAs (myself included), we're starting to see...

By Brent Nuss

August 3, 2015

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For beer drinkers living in Dallas, we are living in a glorious time. With over 20 Breweries in the Dallas/Fort Worth area (and more on the way), it's not hard to find a local beer that suits your palate. For those who love IPAs (myself included), we're starting to see more and more local IPAs that offer different tastes, from Tupps to Peticolas to Martin House to Deep Ellum to Community to various session IPAs; drinking local and still getting a damn fine IPA has become all too easy. Grapevine Craft Brewery was always one of the locals that didn't offer an IPA despite having a decent rye pale ale, Lakefire. That change this month with the release of their newest beer, HopFest United IPA.

If you ask your nearest beer snob, he should tell you that certain hops offer unique flavors. The current trend in American brewing is that more hops is better, which leaves you with IPAs that are just about perfect, and some that brag about their hoppiness. What Grapevine Craft Brewing is giving us in HopFest United is an IPA that is a nice summer surprise. With a great copper coloring, HopFest has a great balance between its hop and malt flavors: neither overpowers but both are distinct. With a smooth taste and a mildly bitter aftertaste, this is an IPA targeting true IPA fans. In fact, you'll have a hard time drinking just one. I certainly did.

Available in a can and on draft, this is definitely one of the better IPAs being offered by our local breweries. If you haven't had it, I encourage you to do so (it's even better on tap). A lot of breweries like to put out IPAs that are substandard (despite offering a similar, better tasting product), but HopFest is not one of those beers. So, next time you see HopFest at your preferred watering hole, support your local beer producers by getting one. Oh, and because it's good.

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