Double IPAs: some unreliable thoughts
I was at the well curated DIPA night at Cardiff craft beer shop PopnHops a couple of Fridays ago with my partner Megan.
There were four recent DIPAs on tap. Putty and Whale Sharks from Verdant, Development Hell 2 from Azvex and Curtains from Beak. All were around 8% so it was half pints and sipping. Of course what one person likes another doesn’t but I think I enjoyed the Azvex the most. It was the least murky of the four although I have nothing against murk (preferably without lactose).
Putty of course has a name and several people arrived asking specifically for it. I think Verdant posted that it was first brewed for Hop City (Leeds) in 2017 when the New England IPA style was not much in evidence in the UK (of course there are excellent West Coast IPAs and DIPAs too).
Putty 2023 tasted fine to me on draught (I also had a few glasses at the Kings Head in Bethnal Green several weeks back) but if I had been asked to distinguish it from Whale Sharks I might have struggled a little.
Those who specialise more in beer history than myself (I do beer politics of course) will no doubt correct me but I think the origins of the style in the UK go back to a series of DIPAs Cloudwater brewed. Like Putty they had a real following at the time.
I suppose the obvious point is that as the style develops and more examples are brewed will the thrill move on from Putty. One might also ask in the context of a cost of living crisis if beers which will come in at well over £5 for a half will find that much of a market
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