Beer Review: Draped Up by SpindleTap Brewery
Todd@HoustonBeerScene.com
Brief PSA: For those wondering why you might not have seen a New Beer Round-up post recently, individual Beer Review posts will replace the New Beer Round-up.
Right now hazy and New England-style IPAs (NEIPAs) are the current craft beer rage and Houston seems to be leading the charge for the style in Texas. There is some debate out there as to what qualifies as a NEIPA and what is just a massively dry-hopped, “hazy IPA”; this is made a bit more difficult to assess as the Brewer’s Association and the BCJP have not come out with guidelines for a NEIPA at this time. For the purpose of this review, I’ll use the terms hazy IPA and NEIPA interchangeably. Whole Foods Brewing Company, Baa Baa Brewhouse, B-52 Brewing Company and SpindleTap Brewery have embraced the style and appear to be gaining in popularity due to their dedication to producing the style. SpindleTap’s success with their much loved Houston Haze has led them to create additional hazy IPAs including Hops Drop, Juiceton, Operation Juice Drop, 5% Tint and, Draped Up. (Update: SpindleTap has added to their hazy lineup by releasing Heavy Hands and they have announced, what we assume will also be hazy, Cosmic Clouds DIPA).
I purchased Draped Up, canned 12/29/17, as a four pack at the brewery. It is also available on a few taps around town but probably will disappear soon until SpindleTap brews another batch. If you’re wondering about the title, it’s from a Bun B song and Draped Up refers to window tint, meaning that you’re behind drapes; at least that’s what I understand from my research. (Sorry, I’m not that hip on Houston rap, even as a few local breweries are referencing the local scene in their beer names. This is pretty funny to me as I would never have associated craft beer with Houston rap.) The appearance of this beer is hazy, but not as opaque as many of the hazy brews out there. There’s not much head retention however it does leave some nice lacing. Draped Up is quadruple dry hopped with popular hops Amarillo, Mosaic, and Galaxy which provide a nice, bright citrusy aroma. The smell is strong and inviting. The flavor follows the aroma with bright citrus, with notes of pineapple and grapefruit. It’s juicy, but not as strongly as many of the other hazy IPAs I’ve tried. Bitterness is really low as expected, which makes this a smooth brew. Overall, this is a tasty, hazy IPA, but not one of my absolute favorites from the area or even from SpindleTap. That being said, Draped Up is still very high quality making this is a Houston Beer Scene Pick.
