In March of 2013 Backlash released its first American styled beer, Salute, a Double IPA featuring Citra and Simcoe hops sourced from Boston Beer Company’s Hop Sharing Program.  Salute received extremely positive reviews and motivated Backlash founder Helder Pimentel to explore the Double IPA style further.

“We were seriously humbled by the response to our first American style beer,” Pimentel said in a recent blog post.  “We’re grateful to have been able to brew such an awesome beer and have our loyal customers drink it like their mouths were on fire.  To keep all our crazy hop head fans happy, we’re going to be rocking out a few other Double IPAs—we’re calling it our “Uprising!” series.  Here’s the concept:  The malt backbone of Salute will remain the same while we rotate through a few different hops/combinations of hops.”

The Uprising! series will include three beers, the first of which Backlash is calling Catalyst. The label art concept of the series borrows from propaganda-style posters and features silhouettes of core Backlash team members. Catalyst includes a profile shot of the unofficial Backlash Beer mascot, an English Bulldog named Stout.

“Catalyst is similar in hop intensity, both in aroma and flavor, to Salute. However the main hop featured in Catalyst is Amarillo, whereas in Salute, the Citra hop was most prominent,” said Pimentel. “Drinkers can expect a more grapefruit-forward profile versus the tropical fruit notes of Salute. Catalyst will check-in at the same ABV and IBU levels as Salute.”

Catalyst boasts an 8.5 percent ABV and about 90 IBUs, which—like Salute—are deceptively smooth. The beer will be available in limited supply in both 22-oz bottles and on draft in the greater Boston area. Smaller amounts will find its way to other parts of Massachusetts. A suggested retail price of $7.99-$8.99 is in-line with other Backlash Beer offerings.

Holyoke, MA

Conquest combines citrusy, sweet orange characteristics of a Belgian wit with flavorful and fragrant American hops. This white IPA features Summit, Citra and Simcoe hops, resulting in a tropical fruit bouquet and a powerful burst of hop flavor, finishing relatively dry with a lingering pine bitterness.

ABV: 5.5

ABW: 4.6

COLOR: 4.4

BITTERNESS: 20

ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1050

AVAILABLE: MA