I was fortunate enough to meet some of the guys that founded Big Ditch at Jack Astor's Bar and Grill.
They had their 3 standards available.
The first one that I tried was 'The Excavator', a rye brown ale.
It was definitely well balanced and smooth as promised. The IBU is marked at 27 with Nugget and Willamette. I myself have only begun to experiment with hops in darker and roasted malts. They seem to behave differently as opposed to hop bahavior in a base of 2 or 6 row. Overall, it was good.
The next one was 'Low Bridge - Hoppy Golden Ale'. Pretty clear. I liked the complexity of it. I feel like you can pair this with a lot of foods. The only thing I did wish was that it would be a little less hoppy. Overall it was pretty good. This would probably be my 'go to' beer.
The last one was 'Hayburner - American IPA'. Wow, that was a nice punch! Apparently I haven't been drinking too many IPAs. I would say that this was the highlight. It is strong at 7%ABV and 80 IBUs. Almost Euphoric. The hop selections were impressive.
These guys know what they're doing. I can't wait to see what lagers they might create.
(pictured below is the The Hayburner)
