“Life for me is just weed and brews” - Schoolboy Q
4/20 is a day in which many stoners celebrate and indulge in weed culture, but it is also a day in which hoppy beers are celebrated. Many brewers use 4/20 as an opportunity to showcase their most hoppy/dank beers by having special releases that may be only available leading up and shortly after the holiday. The hoppy beers in question are not for those with weak taste buds, but only for those that enjoy strong, bitter, resinous hops that are very dank in the nose and on the palate. With this unprecedented year, people have been celebrating the month of 4/20/20 via quarantine by having “personal parties” or via livestream with friends. Below are a few of my favorite dank beers that I have been bringing in 4/20 with.
Stone Enjoy By 4.20
Stone is known for some of the freshest IPAs in the craft beer world. They release these “Enjoy By” IPAs with a freshness expiration date for most holidays, so why would 4/20 be any different. For this particular fresh brew, they were sure to make it extra hoppy and dank with about a dozen hops. This double IPA comes in at 9.4% ABV and 90 IBUs, and contains the following hop varieties: nugget, super galena, simcoe, amarillo, delta, target, cascade, citra, galaxy, nelson sauvin, motueka, and helga. Just like weed smokers are serious about their strains, as a hop head I am serious about my hops, and this beer contains all of my favorites.
Lagunitas The Waldos’ Special Ale
Lagunitas is one of my favorite breweries when it comes to IPAs. They have a secret hop profile that’s unlike any other craft brewer out there, so leading up to 4/20, I am always on the lookout for this super dank and resinous beer. This beer is their hoppiest yet, but still manages to be extremely drinkable with its juicy and floral hop profile that balances out the dankness. This Imperial Double IPA comes in at 11.7% and 10.8% ABV and 100+ IBUs, and is probably my favorite out of all 3 beers that I have listed. Lagunitas has made it no secret that cannabis is a big part of their company culture, so its no surprise that they bring out the big guns when crafting this 4/20 brew.
New Belgium The Hemperor
Well the name says it all; this is one bold and dank IPA! New Belgium proclaimed this experimental brew as “The worlds dankest ale” and I will let you know that they are probably correct! They found a way to recreate hemp terpene flavors in a beer, to complement the inclusion of hop flavors and hemp hearts. Anyone that partakes in cannabis consumption will tell you that this smells and tastes like a good ol’ loud pack. This Experimental IPA comes in at 7% ABV and 55IBUs, and although this beer has the lowest ABV and IBUs out the pack, it is definitely the dankest.
These dank and resinous beers are only available for a limited time, so get them why you can and while they are still fresh! Cheers to all of my Hop Heads.