Rooie Dop Chica Americana IPA

Origin: Netherlands

Type: American IPA

Color: Dark amber

Alcohol content: 7%

Recommended serving temperature: 10ºC/50ºF

Brewery: Microbrouwerij Rooie Dop

Webpage: http://rooiedop.nl/chica-americana-ipa/

My love for IPAs, especially American style ones is no secret. I therefore feel an almost irresistible attraction every time I see those three letters printed on a label. Of course not all the IPAs I try make it into the blog. Some due to lack of time to write about them, others simply because they are average or sub-par. However, the Chica Americana by Rooie Dop is not your average IPA and as such, I have had it in the back of my mind until such moment where I could find the time to write about it.

To give you some background, Rooie Dop has been named the "Best New Brewer in the Netherlands" for the year 2013 by Beer Advocate, something which, judging by the couple of beers that I have had the chance to try, is pretty well deserved.

The Chica Americana is a dark amber beer, slightly darker it seems to me than average IPAs, as well as with a light haze, making it a bit harder to see through. It develops a pretty large head of white foam when you pour it, which trickles down slowly and never fully disappears.

Its smell is mainly fruity, ranging from orange and other citrus hoppy smells, to other sweeter fruits (maybe apricot or peach?). This gives it an overall refreshing smell, sweet and mouthwatering, and only slightly gives away the bitterness that will come when you drink it.

Nevertheless, even such bitterness is not as overwhelming in the taste as you would expect in an IPA. The fruity smells are also very apparent in the taste, making it almost soft and velvety. In fact, the taste is actually dominated at the beginning by the sweeter fruits, so sweet in fact that it almost reminds you more of tropical fruits such as the mango or passion fruit than even the apricot or the peach.

It is only after that first instant where the more hoppy citrusy and bitter flavors start to take over, making it dryer and crisper. The softness almost disappears at that point, going from a velvety feel to making you feel like you are actually licking velvet. Your tongue gets drier and, even if the tropical fruits are still in there somewhere, the dominant flavors are much more bitter and less fruity. At that point I feel there are more pine and resin related touches to it than anything.

This stays this way until the end, with the fruit in the background and the bitter dryer feel rising above it, ending in a kick of dryness and bitterness.

The alcohol content though is at no point noticeable, so much so that I was quite surprised when I looked at the bottle and realized that it had a full 7% ABV, being as it is very well masked every step of the way.

All the above makes this beer quite varied and complete when it comes to its flavor, but also hard to pin down for a proper pairing. If I had to set my mind on a couple of types of food that I would have with this beer I would have to say bar food with lots of good strong cheese and (I do not know if it's the fact that I have just had this right before writing) spicier oriental food, such as some delicious spicy pork. Pairing it with the latter will give your meal a bit of an eclectic flavor, mixing sweet, spicy and bitter together with a very flavorful meat, thereby making the whole thing anything but bland.

I think that in the end this is also what best describes this beer. It is zesty, sweet, bitter and with a kick. In short, anything but bland. A fun ride.