Chicagoist’s “Beer of the Week:” Breckenridge Brewery’s “471 Small Batch” Double Hopped IPA

We often find Colorado breweries lacking when it comes to finding intense hoppy flavor in their beers. They certainly don't stack up to Midwestern breweries in that category. If anything we find beers from the Rocky Mountain State to be too sweet.

The exception seems to be Breckenridge Brewery. The selections we've picked up from this Denver-based brewery over the years seem to indicate that they can tell their Liberty hop from a Saaz, a Chinook from Cascade. Breckenridge's "471 Small Batch" series is dedicated to the classic bitter, with the description of their Double IPA on the Breckenridge website reading that it "redefines" hoppy. It must be the thin Colorado air, but they have a very different definition of what constitutes a hoppy beer than others.

That said, the Double IPA could pass as a standard IPA from Three Floyds, Goose Island, New Belgium or Founders. The hops in this beer are a combination of Chinook, Simcoe, Fuggles and Centennial, brewed with Caramel, Pale, Munich, Torrified Wheat and Carapils malts and British ale yeast. There's a lot going on in this ale. It's bitter, but not overwhelming and the malts do make their collective presence felt. In particular, we liked the way we could pick up the sweetness of the wheat and caramel in the mix. The beer poured a rich copper color with a light orange head that faded slowly, leaving beautiful lace rings on the glass.

Breckenridge is easily available in the area thanks to Louis Glunz Beer Company in Lincolnwood. We picked up our bottle during one of our frequent trips to Lush Wine and Spirits's University Village location (1257 S. Halsted) at a price of $8 for a 22-ounce bottle. Archer Liquors (5996 S. Archer) also carries 471 Double IPA for $14.99 for 12-ounce, six pack bottles. From a perspective of hoppiness, Breckenridge Brewery's "471 Small Batch" Double IPA, Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week," is a step in the right direction.