Cambridge Brewing Company The Audacity of Hops

The Cambridge Brewing Company was the first craft brewpub in Greater Boston. They opened in 1989 with the goal of making an alternative to the mass-produced macro-lagers that dominated the market. For 22 years the only way to sample the wide range of beers produced by The Cambridge Brewing Company was to head to their brewpub in Kendall Square and grab a pint on draft. Recently they have started bottling many of their popular year-round, seasonal, and one-off beers for distribution. One of the year-round beers that is regularly bottled is The Audacity of Hops, a Belgian style IPA. The Audacity of Hops combines the spicy notes of Belgian ale yeast with ten varieties of hops.

CBC Audacity of HopsCambridge Brewing Company The Audacity of Hops pours a clear orange-tinted gold with a mild white head. The smell is a solid combination of hops and fruity esters from the yeast. I detect aromas of pine and citrus fruit along with apple and spice. The first taste is very hop forward, adding some lemon, floral and woodsy flavors. The yeast comes in strongly, with touches of green apple and black pepper nicely melding with the hops. There isn’t much in the way of malt flavor, the hops and yeast sing here. At 70 IBUs the beer is solidly bitter, and leaves a nice tart flavor on your tongue as you drink. The Audacity of Hops is light in body and easy to drink, despite a solid 8.0% ABV. Overall, this is a well done version of a Belgian style IPA, nicely combining the complementary flavors of American hops and Belgian yeast. Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.

Leave a comment