This might just be the IPA that gets me to like IPAs.
Given how this winter has started, it would seem that New Belgium has picked an appropriate name for this year’s winter seasonal.
I don’t prefer IPAs, as a general rule. I like all beers to some extent, but the smack-you-in-the-face bitterness of most craft IPAs has never really appealed to me. But lately, I’ve had the pleasure of sampling several labels that take a step back from the ledge of ultra-bitter, and instead focus on the dimension and flavor that the right amount of hops — rather than the maximum — can lend to a beer. Accumulation is one great example, a White IPA that I found crisp and refreshing. White IPAs blend the strengths of a Belgian Witbier with the hop profile of an IPA, adding equal measures of bitterness and tartness.
The result is delicious, and endlessly drinkable. As a winter seasonal, Accumulation is a departure from the accepted norm of heavy stouts, porters, and other beers you can’t see through. New Belgium chose to buck the trend of heavy beers for the cold season, and I think it was a winning decision.