PAGE 10 • GO! MAGAZINE
ThursdAy, OcTObEr 21, 2021 • ThE buLLETIN
BEER, WINE & MORE
bendbulletin.com/godrink
Goodlife’s Triple Lava Cave
IPA is MASSIVE in flavor
Top 5 Beers of the Week
Green Flag citra Fresh hop IPA —
bevel craft brewing
Mocha Porter — bend brewing
story of the Ghost hauntingly
Pale Ale — block 15 brewing
Oude Perzik — boneyard beer
Pecan Pie Porter — backwoods
brewing
While it’s challenging to achieve
great flavor with the higher alcohol
volume of Goodlife Brewing’s Lava
Cave Triple IPA, “Our inspiration lies
in the challenge,” said Tyler West,
head brewer at Goodlife Brewing Co.
“We like to make beers that really get
you thinking, and challenge us to rely
on our experience of the science be-
hind beer and fermentation.”
Jon Abernathy/For The bulletin
BY JON ABERNATHY • For The bulletin
T
he spectrum of India pale ale substyles is a wide one. The original IPA-inspired variations ranging from lower-alcohol “session” IPA,
to a color palette spanning black, brown, red and white, to the newer hazy, juicy and New England styles. And then there is double or
“imperial” IPA, which amplifies the hop levels along with the strength for an intense, hop-forward experience.
Brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo of Cali-
fornia is widely recognized as pioneer-
ing the style. Cilurzo first brewed what
he called a double IPA, Inaugural Ale,
in 1994 at Blind Pig Brewing Company.
It was around 7% alcohol by volume
and 100 IBUs — practically unheard of
at the time.
In 1999 at Russian River Brewing
Company, he created Pliny the Elder.
At 8% ABV and full of intense grape-
fruit and floral hop character, it set the
standard, widely considered to be a
“best of class” in the beer world.
Pushing the limits in these ales, one
may ask, if there is double, could there
be a triple IPA? Unsurprisingly, that
answer is yes. In 2005, Cilurzo brewed
Pliny the Younger, released as a winter
seasonal and labeled a triple IPA. With
10.25% ABV, it’s a triple dry-hopped
cult favorite which to this day inspires
hordes of fans lining up for its release.
What separates double from triple
IPA? Strength, primarily; double IPA is
considered to range from roughly 7.5%
to 10% ABV, while triple IPA is over
Continued on next page