Another year has come and gone. Many beers from the Triangle have graced this section, and we have Dave Tollefson to thank for that. Now that Tollefson has left in search of delicious beers from across the state, he graciously handed the reins over to me to continue the pursuit of fantastic beers in the Triangle.
Our tastes in beer differ in many ways, but where it remains the same is we both appreciate the great suds coming out of the Triangle. From lagers and pale ales to sours, saisons, stouts and IPAs – and everything in between.
While Dave ended his tenure with Chemistree Wee Heavy from The Glass Jug Beer Lab, I’ll begin my stint with a bang from Durham’s Barrel Culture Brewing and Blending. Better Believe is a smooth and silky triple IPA that’s meant to make hop heads poke their heads up out of the blistering sands like a mob of meerkats looking out for danger.
Being a triple and hazy IPA, Better Believe resides at 11 percent ABV with hints of pineapple and stone fruits, making it one heck of a punch. Dry-hopped with Vic Secret and Mosaic hops, it’s a hazy that shouldn’t be taken lightly due to the ABV being well hidden in the array of citrus characteristics.
Better Believe is a collaboration between Barrel Culture and Vitamin Sea Brewing out of Weymouth, Mass., known for its plethora of New England, imperial and double IPAs.
Barrel Culture came into the Triangle craft beer scene in 2017 with a successful line of sought-after sour beers, and now has been pushing towards clean beers – which commonly applies to beer styles with a subdued fermentation flavor, such as pale ales and IPAs.
The brewery offers everything from juicy, hop-forward IPAs to wild fermentation sours and pastry stouts – which promises a new experience to anyone trying a beer from Barrel Culture for the first time.
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