Tallgrass Brewing Company- Tallgrass IPA: Not To Be Forgotten, Thank You Mr. Miskimins (Part 3)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at 5:54PM | by Jason 
This is the last and final brew that was sent to be by Mr. Dale Miskimins from the Craft Beer blog www.sodakbeer.com. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that he also sent down a six pack of Odell Brewing Company’s IPA but I had reviewed that brew and I was able to kick back and just enjoy those. This brew is from another brewery not distributed to Illinois and again, I am really excited to try another brewery and add it to the list. This will be my second official brewery from Kansas as Tallgrass Brewing Company hails from Manhattan, KS. As I mentioned to Dale, I’d take anything IPA or Pale Ale and he chose Tallgrass Brewing Company’s Tallgrass IPA. Great Choice as I am always down for another IPA. This green starburst 16oz can is adorned with a large tusked Elephant which leaves me scratching my head as to the choice of an Elephant to symbolize an IPA. Could it be that Elephants are known to have good memories? Is this going to be the IPA I will never forget? I’m eager to find out.
Tallgrass Brewing Company classifies this brew as an India Pale Ale (IPA) and their website describes Tallgrass IPA as, “Our third beer, Tallgrass IPA, is an India Pale Ale that is rich, complex, and flavorful. We are proud to be the first brewery here in the Great Plains to have the first brewed, cans, and draft IPA out on the market!
Tallgrass IPA originally came to life as a creation during Jeff’s early homebrewing days (batch Numero Uno), and it was consumed in short order by his friends who came over to cook out and help with the next batch. After some modifications over the years (because nobody’s rookie homebrew batch tastes all that great, but your friends will tell you it does) the recipe was dialed in to become what is now Tallgrass IPA. We love this beer and think you will too!
What is with the name “India Pale Ale”? Well, India Pale Ales have a history that reaches way back to the days of the British Empire and the need for good and proper British beer for the soldiers in India. It just so happens that hops not only taste and smell great; they also have natural preservative properties that help keep beer fresher. Obviously, there was no way to keep beer cool on the long voyage around Cape Horn from England to India, so the intellectual forbearers of modern microbiology (genius brewers of course!) figured that if some hops were good for storage then heaps of hops would be great!
With this technique, these hero brewers and their hops kept the beer good and the soldiers of the empire inebriated, even in the furthest corners of the globe. Even more, the hoppiness of the IPA preserved not only the beer itself, but the great taste it created has preserved the style as one of the most popular beer styles in the world in the 21st century. If those brewers weren’t knighted by the empire back then, they should have been!”
Tallgrass IPA pours a caramel/orange color with a big 1” beige head. The aroma is a grapefruit and pine up front but has hints of orange zest with some pale and caramel malts.
Right out of the gate, Tallgrass IPA has wonderfully balanced sweet and hoppy flavor. With the presence of the malty sweetness the bite from the hops is minimized but the hop flavor is not. Now granted, I like my IPA’s with a bit more kick but Tallgrass IPA really falls into that sweet spot of well-rounded deliciousness. I can honestly say that I don’t remember having an IPA that was this sweet before but it is so finely balanced with the hop flavor that in my book it is a truly unique Craft Beer experience. I cannot thank Dale enough for this brew; this one was a winner in my book. If you get a change to ride this Elephant, do so…this brew is one you will not forget.
ABV: 6.3%
Consumed: Founders CBS Big Ass Snifter Glass
Verdict: Buy a Case
