Gigantic IPA
Gigantic Brewing Co.
Portland, OR
Made with just pale and Munich malts; the caramel character (and much of the color) comes from the kettle. The hop bill is a blend of Cascade, Centennial, Crystal and Simcoe for all late-kettle and dryhop additions, with Magnum as the bittering hop.
ABV: 7.3
ABW: 5.9
COLOR: 7
BITTERNESS: 85
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1066
AVAILABILITY: AK, OR, VT, WA
The hop aromas jumped right out as soon as I popped the cap: good sign. Solid foam, and long-lasting aromas are good, too. I’m getting citrus and fresh grass—I love grassy hop aromas—and it’s not stopping. The body’s on the lean side of middleweight, and the finish is real nice and cleanly bitter. But … there seems to be something missing in the middle. Just … basic IPAness, and these days, I want more, I want fresher, zingy or Brit-hopping. Maybe “Gigantic” misled my expectations.
Rich gold in color; there’s no doubting the “C-hop” content of this aromatically piney, spicy, faintly earthy IPA. The start shows more its Simcoe hop content in a vaguely oniony flavor, but the citrusy C-hops—Cascade, Centennial and Crystal, according to the label—shine in the body, with piney, grapefruity, sweetly lemony flavors held in balance by prodigious caramel maltiness. Gigantic, indeed, but also, in its own way, a finely nuanced match for dishes from burgers to curries.
Lew Bryson writes about beer and whiskey from his home in southeast Pennsylvania. He has a family and two dogs. That’s all you need to know.
Once described as “beerdom’s Brillat-Savarin,” Stephen Beaumont is the author of five books and countless articles on beer, spirits, food, travel and how it all goes together.
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