Day 6 "Sudwerk IPA"

As a boy I watched constructions workers building a structure just north of I-80 at the end of Pole Line Rd. in Davis.  At the time the building was pretty much in the middle of nowhere with only the “new” post office as a neighbor.  My paper route provided the opportunity to ride past the construction site every day for what seemed like a year.  I wondered what in the world they were building until the sign was finally raised in front of the Sudwerk Brewery.  Although I didn't know it at the time Sudwerk Hubschbrau would change the way I thought about and drank beer.  My first keg beer was from Sudwerk, up until then I had only had Lucky Lager and Micky’s Big Mouths.  Later, in college I actually rented an apartment for the sole reason that it was walking distance from Sudwerk. 

Since those days I have been back to Sudwerk many, many times for lunches, dinners, birthday parties and business meetings. You can imagine how excited I was to find out that Sudwerk was opening a restaurant in my own back yard.  If you walk over Rainbow Bridge from Old Folsom you will find Sudwerk Riverside.  Sudwerk Riverside occupies the old Cliff House restaurant and I am pretty sure they kept most of the Cliff House staff that served tables here in the 80s.

Back to the beer!  Although I have always enjoyed the Marzen, Pilsner and Lager I decided to profile Sudwerk's IPA today.  I have been on a bit of an IPA kick for a few months now so I wanted to see how this stacked one up.  On the menu Sudwerk’s version is described as their "Richest and Most Flavorful Beer with a Malty, Hoppy and Bitter Taste".  All I can say is their version is definitely a Sudwerk beer and by that I mean it tastes very similar to their Marzen with a hoppier finish.  Sudwerk’s IPA is a great all around beer but it doesn’t stand out as anything astonishing amongst Sudwerk’s other fine beers.  I do have to say that it worked well for washing down the Buffalo wings.