Ranger IPA: To protect. To pour. To partake.

India Pale Ale            6.5% ABV

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Fort Collins, Colorado

Notes: 70 IBUs (International Bittering Unit). Ranger IPA is brewed with pale and dark caramel malts. It is then hopped with Cascade, Chinook, and Simcoe hops. Cascade hops are added again for a huge dry hop flavor.

Background: New Belgium brewery is a pretty well-known brewery across the country. With Fat Tire as a flagship beer, people started asking for more.  Well, for all the, as New Belgium calls them, “hopinistas” out there you are in luck. They bring us Ranger IPA. It was first brewed in February 2010, and has become so popular that it has become one of the few craft beers to be canned.

Appearance: This beer has a clear amber color to it. With a nice 1 inch white head.

Aroma: Strong hop aroma, as is typical with an IPA. Get an especially strong aroma of the Simcoe and Chinook hops.

Taste: Ranger has a pretty crisp, refreshing flavor to it. You get an abundance of hops in your first sip. It isn't overly heavy, but you can definitely tell you are drinking a beer. The bitterness is about average as far as IPA’s go. Pretty well balanced malt and hop flavor.

Overall: I would rate this around an 88/100. This  IPA didn't top the charts, but it is definitely good. It drinks smoother than 6.5% abv would suggest. The best part about it is it is fairly abundant. You can get it pretty much anywhere, which has made it become one of the staple IPA’s in my arsenal. 

-Braden