Beers with Chuck: Big DIPA Release at Gnar-Fest

by Chuck P

Gnarly Barley's Big DIPA is perfect for front porch sipping on a hot Louisiana day.

The Gnarly Barley Brewery located in Hammond, Louisiana, is one of my top three favorite local breweries. Their passion for making delicious craft beer comes through in spades in the final product, and owners Zac and Cari Caramonta might be two of my favorite people in the whole world.

With word of them introducing a new brew to their line-up, a double IPA called Big DIPA, at their second annual Gnar-Fest, I knew I couldn’t miss this event.

That Saturday the brewery was packed with craft beer lovers inside and out as the cool sounds of Casey Saba and Andrew Robin filled the brewery. The food truck lines were long, and the line for beer was longer, but both were moving fairly quickly. After weaving my way through the crowd and saying a few hellos, I ran into Jay at the side of the bar (obviously) and jumped in line to get my first taste of the Big DIPA.

Wow. Just...wow. This is one of the most easy drinking DIPA’s I’ve had. It comes in right at 8% ABV, so it’s got some bite to it. The aroma is spot on, the golden color of the beer is beautiful, and I found the overall bitterness of the beer more subtle than I expected, but it still packed a nice hop punch. Since it was a brewery-only release, I knew I’d have to grab a few bottles before leaving.

After a few more glasses of Big DIPA, I tried some of the other specialty brews on tap. The selection included Raspberry Catahoula Common, Imperial and Barrel Aged Korova Milk Porter, but I had to grab a glass of one of my favorites, the Korova Peanut Butter Porter. It’s like a liquid version of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Perfection.

Hopefully the Big DIPA will make its way to store shelves here in Baton Rouge soon. In the meantime, it’s the perfect excuse to take a little road trip to Hammond.