Jade IPA

Foothills Brewing

Winston-Salem, NC

Jade IPA includes Citra, Chinook and its namesake Jade hops. Foothills debuted the beer on draft in 2011 and started bottling Jade IPA this January.

ABV: 7.4

ABW: 5.9

COLOR: 4.6

BITTERNESS: 86

ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1063

AVAILABLE: NC, SC, TN, VA

She glances at me from the bottle, the raven-haired woman with the smoky jade eyes, inviting me over for a drink. I’m met with a citrus fruit salad: grapefruit, tangerine, orange zest, lemon, mandarin orange and a little pineapple and mango thrown in for good measure. The beer is named for its predominant hop varietal, the Pacific Jade. It offers many of the citra hop characteristics—but also a bit of peppercorn. It presents beautifully in this IPA, where there is more than hops. A bit of warming booze and subtle biscuity malt and that pepper spice rounds out this slightly sticky hazy orange ale.
- John Holl

According to the label, Jade’s dry-hopping is with Chinook and Citra, which certainly shows in the dense and dryly citrusy aroma of this hazy golden ale. On the palate, however, it’s another story, with bright pineapple notes shifting quickly to oily herbs and grapefruit pith, finally finishing bitter, dry and peppery. This is without question a hop lover’s beer, and while I do like my hoppiness, I’d prefer a bit more malt to back it up.
- Stephen Beaumont

John Holl
John is the editor of All About Beer Magazine, the host of The Beer Briefing on iHeart Radio, and the author of three books, including The American Craft Beer Cookbook. Find him on Twitter @John_Holl.

Stephen Beaumont
Co-author of both The World Atlas of Beer and The Pocket Beer Guide (with Tim Webb), Stephen travels the world sampling beer, hosting dinners and tastings, and eating too much airport food.