Some beers are embedded into you memory due to specific events in your life. For me, I can never drink, see, walk by, even think about Redhook’s Longhammer IPA without thinking about local pizza spot “I Love NY Pie.”
The story itself isn’t that interesting. While having a pizza one night, the owner of NY Pie mentioned there was a new beer on tap, Long Hammer. I’d never heard of it and he was glad to let me sample it. Given the rather weak selection of beer, I was pleasantly surprised by a big floral, hoppy IPA that was also quite easy to drink. But more than the hops, what sticks with me to this day is the name Long Hammer. This isn’t the same thing you or I might say, this is a name a man transplanted from the Bronx says. The “o” is long, and the “r” took off early to catch the Yankees game. It’s a name that will forever be ingrained in my brain.
The Long Hammer pours a rather light yellow, much lighter than most IPA. The aroma is full of hops, big grapefruity, floral hops. The flavor is slightly sweet and again, full of those hops. While there are lots of hops in this beer, they aren’t overly bitter. Jen, who hates hops, commented that the beer smelled like flowers. I really like this IPA, it’s a little light fr the style, coming from the West Coast, but doesn’t sacrifice the hops.
There’s a definite crowd of people out there that aren’t fans of this beer. I’m not sure why, since many of the complaints I’ve heard say this beer isn’t hoppy enough. I can agree that this is an IPA for the masses, but I wouldn’t say it is a bland beer by any means. As usual, grab one for yourself and make your own decision. Hopefully, it won’t inspire a bronx cheer on your part.
By the way, if you’re in the mood for a good pizza, definitely visit NY Pie, they’re one block east of Russian River on 4th street.
