Beer Man: Complex hops bless Gubna IPA

• Brewery uses only one type of hops in the ale
• Summit hops provide lasting bitterness
• Lacing leaves biscuit and fruit aroma

Beer Man is a weekly profile of beers from across the country and around the world.
This week: Gubna Imperial IPA
Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, Colo.
oskarblues.com

Looking recently through my list of past reviews, I realize I have somewhat neglected what is probably the most popular craft beer style in the U.S. -- the American pale ale and its variants, such as India Pale Ale and imperials.

Part of this is because I am not a big fan of the grapefruit-pine flavor of the hops used in most of these beers. Another part is so many have a similar profile that it becomes tiresome to keep repeating that the beer tastes like grapefruit and pine, and is bitter.

There are versions, however, that take the mundane to a higher level, and glowing reviews have been run of hoppy wonders such as O'so Brewing Co.'s Lupulin Maximus and Hopdinger, Pyramid's Outburst, Grand Teton's Bitch Creek and Sweetgrass, Odell's IPA and 5 Barrel Pale Ale, and many Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas offerings, to name a few.

Oskar Blues' Gubna Imperial India Pale Ale can be added to the list. Although it's an overall well-made beer, what really struck me was the complexity of its hops. Yes, there is the grapefruit and pine component, but I also caught flavors of orange and pineapple. Surprisingly, only one type of hops -- Summit -- is used in the ale.

The Summit hops provided a nice lasting hop bitterness without the obnoxious harshness that many beers like this can have.

The malt flavor is mostly light caramel and biscuit and is somewhat sweet, but it helped balance the hop bitterness. The 10% alcohol content is not noticeable in the flavor or in the body, which is relatively light for such a strong beer.

Most beers I review leave nice foam lacing on the inside of the glass and this aspect is not usually mentioned, but Gubna deserves special mention. Usually the lacing is all over the place, but Gubna left distinct horizontal lacing stripes that recorded each sip. The lacing also gave off a delicious biscuit and fruit aroma after the beer was finished.

This is good stuff for both the experienced hops lover and the novice craft beer drinker. Oskar Blues beers are distributed in about 26 states -- find it in your area here: www.oskarblues.com/about-us/beer-locator.

Many beers are available only regionally. Check the brewer's website, which often contains information on product availability. Contact Todd Haefer at beerman@postcrescent.com. To read previous Beer Man columns Click here.