Resin - Sixpoint Brewery

    Resin is an American Double India Pale Ale (also called an American Imperial IPA) created by Sixpoint Brewery which is located in Brooklyn, New York. Resin was created to celebrate the resinous character of the hops flower and to showcase the hops bitterness and range of flavors in their purest form, yet still in a way that is balanced and easy to drink. 

    Resin pours a hazy, light orange color with a two-finger, off-white head. The head shows great retention as well as lacing.

    The Double IPA smells unsurprisingly hoppy. Citrus fruits and a floral fragrance are present, as well as the piney scent that comes from resin. The malt character of the beer can only slightly be smelled. There is a slight bit of an ethanol scent to the beer as well.

    Resin is medium bodied with a medium carbonation level. The beer has an oily, almost sticky mouthfeel to it. The carbonation does an amazing job of really presenting the scent and flavors of the ale to the palate. This has to be one of the smoothest Double IPAs that I have ever tasted. There is a nice alcohol warmth to the ale, which at 9.1% ABV, is not surprising. The ease of drinking, however, is extremely surprising, and somewhat dangerous with such a high alcohol content.

Beerzilla attacking Brooklyn aided by hops-baloons.

    Resin is definitely a hops-forward beer, though it is not nearly as overpowering as other high IBU (International Bitterness Units) ales. There is a very nice caramel malt background to the hops flavors on showcase. Citrus hops flavor is much more prevalent in the beer's taste than floral notes, differing from the beer's aroma as both seemed equally present in the scent. Piney resin flavor is definitely the big hitter in the beer. I suppose that's no surprise though, as it's what the beer is named after.

    Hops are extremely important to beer, and have been for hundreds of years. In modern times, hops have become more of a flavoring agent, whereas in the times of nautical journeys which would sometimes last months on end, hops were a lifesaver. The hops plant has natural, anti-biotic properties which were discovered to keep bacteria from growing in sailors' beer supplies. In earlier times, beer contained a much lower alcohol content and was basically a way for humans to store water without worry of parasitic or bacterial invasion. India Pale Ales are so named due to the extremely long voyage between Great Britain and India. After colonizing India, the British found that their beer supplies, even with the alcohol in them, would spoil before reaching their soldiers stationed in India. Extra hops were then added to the beer to help keep it safe throughout the long voyage, hence the extra-hoppy India Pale Ale style of beers.

    In recent years, the American craft brewing movement has begun using hops as a flavoring ingredient. New strains and combinations of the plant have lead to new, and extremely enjoyable, beers. Sixpoint Brewery created Resin in honor of the hops plant's history, and have released this interesting video explaining their thinking on the subject.

   It's no secret that I, too, am a hophead. I really like that Sixpoint released this beer in honor of my favorite brewing ingredient. I find Resin to be a great example of an Imperial IPA, and a great beer overall. While the beer does have a rather high (103 IBU) bitterness rating, I would still recommend that even non-hopheads give the ale a try due to its amazing balance and presentation of hops flavors!

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