Delicious murder in a can and our new go-to IPA

Welcome to the Boston Better Beer Bureau, our latest incarnation of the trusty suds reporting we’ve done at DigBoston ever since people referred to beer as suds. Really, we remember the days when we’d spend half our checks on fancy German bottles just so that we could review them, whereas these days breweries from all around New England kindly send us samplers and stay in touch. The BBBB is our attempt to return that love, all while sharing more news about the innumerable microbreweries and pubs among us. 

New Doom rises

Sometimes, as a publication, we have to simply snap out of the mindset that it’s obvious our readers should be paying close attention to Lord Hobo and its many works of wonder, so we don’t always have to cover its every last move, and instead perform our duty of updating Greater Boston’s varsity beer drinkers on new must-haves of the moment, as well as entries into a growing compendium of standbys we adore, many of which are produced by the above mentioned Woburn brewery.

As you may have feared, this time we’re here to describe the experience of Doom Sauce, Lord Hobo’s haunted riff (mostly in name, but they’re relatives nevertheless) on its trademark Boom Sauce. This special black 7.8% ABV double IPA offering hits high on the hop scale, all while hinging on dark malts for a change. The idea is a saucy boom built on a full foundation, the spoils of which amount to a brilliant optical illusion. Craft brew analysts will have a field day with this one, from the citrus peels in play to something lurking underneath it all that I would not quite say tastes just like coffee but that nonetheless reminds me of a gourmet fresh-ground drip type of situation. Sip at your own risk, and if you can get your mitts on a four-pack.

Room for Harpoon

Since we’re on the subject of top breweries in this region that know how to sustain their reps and put fresh new ideas into motion without rocking the boat or getting too weird, I also have an overdue shoutout for Harpoon on the strength of its American IPA, aka its Galaxy Citra Centennial. As someone who drank approximately an ocean’s worth of standard Harpoon IPA from about 2010 through 2015 before coming to favor much more blisteringly bitter selections, it feels nice to again have a go-to from the Boston-Vermont trendsetters.

Earlier this year, we praised Harpoon for its tasty Rec. League APA, but as a heavy drinker, that low-alcohol number, no matter how excellent, doesn’t scratch my itch. As for its American IPA, a golden 7.2% ABV potion that’s increasingly appearing on store shelves in its handsome blue cans, I’m smitten with the bite and sweetness.

Pour me another.