It’s a new week and it’s time for another beer from my christmas present. This week I picked a beer that I think was one of the best choices (for me) among the beers that I received on 25th December.
Vintage nomad has a cool name and it looks interesting, yet nothing spectacular as design on the lebel, as you can see. This is a collaboration brew between the bulgarian Sofia Electric Brewing and Barona Brewing Company from Portugal. The style is west coast double IPA and I have to admit that west coast IPAs are my favorite IPA beers. I like the dry mouthfeel with intensive hop aroma and flavor in this style. I still remember the taste of one of the first beers of this style that I had in my life - the Stone IPA, which was like the trademark of the West Coast IPAs. But now, back to Bulgaria!
The children are usully asleep this time of the afternoon, so although I am very tired too, it is always a better choice to have a nice beer and relax on my own, surrounded by all these toys. They seem to be everywhere around the floor and even if we (I and my wife) tidy up and arrange everything, it lasts just like half an hour.
The beer looks fantastic. It is a bit hazy, but not at the NEIPA levels. This has to be due to the heavy hopping, and this one seems like a hop bomb. The guys really nuked the golden liquid with Citra, Amarillo and other modern hops. The color looks fantastic and it is finally time for the biggest joy of the day - the first sip!
To be honest, I expected a bit drier beer, but the fact that this is actually a double IPA makes me think that this is normal. 8% ABV is a lot, and it is totally expected to have a bit more residual sugars after fermenting. I like a lot more the driness of a 6% West Coast IPA, but I am on a different territory now. After all the fact that really matters in any beer from this style is the freshness of the hops. Winter is preferrable time for storing and shipping these beers, because the hoght temperature is an #1 enemy of the precious hop oils. If you keep uour IPA beer in warmer rooms, say more than 15 degrees centigrade, you will see signs of flavor degradation pretty quick.
I am happy that this beer was stored cool and it is amazingly fresh. Also, the color shows no sign of oxidation. The only drawback I see is that it is only one can, and sadly… only 330 ml, so it will be over pretty soon! But after all I am a father of three and it is time to entertain the first kid that woke up after the afternoon nap.
It is good that the little lady is the first one to come, because her bigger brothers will definitely want to try the beer badly! So… This will be the end of my post. See you soon and have a wonderful weekend!
Bye and cheers!
