HB&B Blog — IPA

The Beer Lover's Table: Tostones (Twice-Fried Plantains) with Mojo Sauce and Indie Rabble Wet George Double IPA

Beer Lover's Table Claire Bullen Double IPA Indie Rabble IPA New England IPA

The Beer Lover's Table: Tostones (Twice-Fried Plantains) with Mojo Sauce and Indie Rabble Wet George Double IPA

Eight years ago, a friend of a friend invited me to her home and made tostones for me. I watched as she removed the plantains from their thick green peels, fried inch-thick coins of them, smooshed them flat, then fried them again. She served them with mojo – a vivid green sauce of coriander, citrus, oil, and spice – and we ate them, still radiating heat from the fryer, their dusting of sea salt crackling between our teeth. I’ve wanted to make tostones for myself ever since, but never did – perhaps intimidated by the deep-frying (which I’ve since learned is...

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The Beer Lover's Table: Guava and Cream Cheese Pastelitos and Makemake New Moon Rising IPA

Claire Bullen IPA Makemake New England IPA

The Beer Lover's Table: Guava and Cream Cheese Pastelitos and Makemake New Moon Rising IPA

I never realised what guava could be until I walked into a Brazilian supermarket. Until then, I knew guava mostly as a tasting note that was semi-frequently ascribed to hazy IPAs, usually flanked by mango, papaya and passionfruit, not so much individually articulated as considered one tropical mishmash. Occasionally, I came across guava juice. If I ever saw the fruit itself at the local greengrocer, it was shrunken and small, wrinkled with age and practically aromaless. But then, in March, I entered that grocery store in Rio de Janeiro and was overcome. What was that smell? Vivid, sweet, pungent, perfumed…...

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Fundamentals #139 — Pressure Drop Cheese Volume 2 New England IPA

Fundamentals IPA London Matthew Curtis Pressure Drop

Fundamentals #139 — Pressure Drop Cheese Volume 2  New England IPA

When I started this column, I called it Fundamentals because I wanted it to focus on the key elements of beer and brewing. Initially, I wanted to look at the raw materials themselves, starting with the four key ingredients of water, hops, malted grains and yeast, before delving into adjuncts, from toasted coconut to tonka beans. But my concept of what I consider “fundamental” to modern brewing extends far beyond simply what goes into every keg, cask, bottle and can. The culture of beer itself and the elements that bind it together are also key to its existence. This is...

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Fundamentals #138 - Two Flints Sonic Muse West Coast IPA

Fundamentals IPA Matthew Curtis Two Flints West Coast IPA

Fundamentals #138 - Two Flints Sonic Muse West Coast IPA

Long time readers of this column will know that I have, for a long time, asserted the fact that the West Coast is indeed the best coast. The reason for this is because I love the taste of beer. I know this sounds like a gross generalisation (what is “beer flavoured”, anyway?), but please hear me out. For me, the two most glorious things you can find in a beer are the twin tenets of balance and drinkability. One cannot exist without the other: for a beer to be truly drinkable, its flavours must attain harmony, with no bum notes,...

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Fundamentals #136 — Track x Pellicle Always Trust the Optimist West Coast IPA

Fundamentals IPA Manchester Matthew Curtis Track Brewing Co West Coast IPA

Fundamentals #136 — Track x Pellicle Always Trust the Optimist West Coast IPA

Since I started writing about beer more than a decade ago, I’ve taken every opportunity to talk about the experience that showed me that beer was more than something you simply drink and enjoy. (Although, it’s also worth reminding yourself once in a while that it very much can – and should – be.) When I tasted Odell IPA for the first time in the brewery’s taproom in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2010, it crystallised a positive feeling I’ve carried with me ever since. It’s this that keeps me enthralled with beer and its culture. But how do you carry...

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