A few weeks ago, I realized that my blog was in need of a signature drink. So what goes into a Hoppy Okapi? For the Hoppy, a West Coast IPA is the natural choice, and one of my favorites is Pure Hoppiness from Alpine Breer Company – it has all of the flowery scent and complex bitterness that I look for in a great IPA. And the Okapi? A key characteristic of the okapi is obviously the striped hindquarters, which made me think of a Black and Tan, a layered beer drink typically made from Guiness and Bass. Also, the velvety brown coat of the okapi inspired me to seek out a rich dark beer with a velvety mouthfeel. Fortunately Alpine also makes the perfect stout for the Hoppy Okapi – Captain Stout, a “Chocolate Oatmeal Dry Stout”.
And so last Saturday I took a field trip to Alpine, arriving at the brewery about an hour after the tasting room opened:
Alpine Brewing
I got a growler fill of Pure Hoppiness, and some bottles of Captain Stout:
Then I poured the Hoppy Okapis – I used just more that half stout, probably about a 60/40 ratio between stout and IPA. Unfortunately my layering skills are not up to spec – my Hoppy Okapis were not layered at all, as the stout and IPA mixed together into one velvety drink…I’m not sure whether the problem was my pouring technique or an insufficient density difference between the beers.
Hoppy Okapi: Captain Stout + Pure Hoppiness
I was disappointed by the lack of layering, but the flavor was everything I hoped for – the richness of Captain Stout combined with the bitterness of Pure Hoppiness made this SO much better than the typical black and tan – far richer and more complex, this drink is what I hope for whenever I try a “Black IPA” style beer, but I’m not sure it exists in the wild!
The Hoppy Okapi is my first completed goal from my 101 Things list (#21-Create a signature beer drink). Only 100 more to go!
Wow – what an unusual, yet creative, goal to start with! My brother brews beer and we are looking at setting up a brewery some time in the future, so your goal to create a signature beer drink caught my attention.
All the best with the rest of the goals on your list.
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