Mad River: The Gravity Gets Hi-i-i-gh…

We waited and we waited, but it’s finally arrived: Mad River’s Steelhead Double Dread Imperial Red. It’s the most recent entry in the brewery’s High Gravity series, an uber-limited series of full-throttle brews.

For those of you just hopping on the dT blog-wagon, we’ve been waiting (sort of) patiently for its arrival since a tasting over at the Cambridge Common a couple months ago, when the M.R. president promised us a slice of the High-Gravity-pie. We tasted the then-current Serious Madness Black Ale back then; we gushed and sputtered over it. Which led to our Double Dread anticipation.

Was it worth the wait? Abso-effing-lutely. I waffled with sampling it for this posting, it being limited and whatnot, but in the end, I caved and bought a 4-pack. The side of the pack claims 8.6% booze, but it’s hardly noticeable, what with the sweet malts and the prickly hops tap-dancing about on the palette. It manages to refresh, despite its weight and claims at heavy-headiness.

The coolest bit of all, though, comes at the top of their brewery description: “…we were astounded to see light literally dance and refract in its ruby depths.” Aside from that being a poetic and beautiful and apt description, it also reveals considerable information re: the integrity of M.R. in general. Any true art controls the artist as much as the artist controls it; the Double Dread reflected something unexpected back to the brewers. What else could you ask for from a beer? This is craft beer epitomized, people. Dig it.

Tags: California, double imperial red, imperial, mad river, red ale
Category: Beer Reviews, The Beer Blog | Comments (0)

By The Way, About Mad River…

You really should be pumped about this. As you may or may not recall , a few weeks back I wrote about Mad River (and I’m assuming you don’t, you hopefully having better things to do than commit my posts to memory). The brewery came to town for the Craft Beer Conference and hosted a little get-together over at the Cambridge Common.

During which get-together the M.R. CEO Eric Spieth promised me we’d get an allotment of the next entry in their limited High Gravity Series - a double imperial red (!). Now, in the ole game we play, reps promise this and that and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t, so generally I take these things with a grain of salt. But Spieth strikes me as exactly the kind of guy that should dominate the business world - genuine, grateful, generous (not to mention passionate re: his product). I believed him.

And with good reason. It’s all about to become a reality.

Our rep who handles M.R. gave me a little tap on the shoulder yesterday and - ever so hush-hushedly - informed me the DIR should be in soon enough, definitely before it gets too hot out. Then he gave me a little nod and I gave him a little nod and he put his finger next to his nose and sidled off backward. If he was wearing a hat, he might have pulled the brim over his eyes as he stepped into the shadows. It was a very Deep Throat moment (uh, in the Woodward and Bernstein sense).

So get puh-puh-pumped. It’s en route. It’s coming. I’ll let you know.

dJp

Tags: BRAND NEW, double imperial red, mad river
Category: The Beer Blog | Comments (0)