Who says you can’t age IPA? I do it all the time. Usually, it’s intentional when I do, but occasionally I just lose my beer. OK, I know what you’re saying, the Bruguru had a few too many and lost his beer. But no. That’s not really how it is at all. You see, I just kind of misplaced my bottle of Half Cycle IPA from the Flat 12 Bierwerks of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Flat 12 Bierwerks does not sell their beer in Georgia, but I got a bottle of this beer from the Don Rickles of the beer world, Tom “The Beer Whisperer” Mulvihill. I socked it away in DBR Prime and somehow lost track of it-until now. It’s been kept by the freezer compartment, extra cold, all this time and has held up far better than I could have expected.

Here’s what the brewery says about Half Cycle on their website:

The Half Cycle is so named due to its marriage of single and double IPA characteristics. In baseball parlance, a single and double is half of “the cycle”, and this IPA is a heavy hitter. It’s a single IPA, hopped like a double, with an over-the-top hop character that’s a bit spicy, citrusy, piney, you make the call. Light in color, but not on flavor, Half Cycle is dry hopped with a pound of high alpha American hops in every barrel.

Flat 12 Bierwerks Half Cycle IPA has an alcohol content of 6% by volume with a whopping 104 IBUs. Actually, they say 104.1 IBUs on the website. Gotta get that extra tenth of a percent in I guess. At any rate, I expect it’s that high IBU content along with the extra cold, nay nigh-freezing temperatures I stored the beer at that kept it so long. Bill Nye would be proud.

Flat 12 Bierwerks Half Cycle India Pale Ale pours to a hazy orange amber color (hazy because I kept it so long) with a huge rocky cauliflower head and a big citrus orange and herbal grassy hop nose. A thick layer of Brussels lace forms on my glass and follows the liquid all the way to the bottom. Taking a sip, the beer has a firm caramel maltiness up front followed by a bit of citrusy orange, a little resin but mostly an herbal grassy hop bitterness that’s long, dry, lingering and very wonderful. This beer is well worthy of 4 stars, and that after 2 years. Its malt and hops as IPA should be with citric and at the last herbal grassy hops.

I’ll have to try it fresh and get back to you, because this beer is delicious.



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