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Beers are like baby names. The trends start with the urban elite, but it's not long before a bunch of little Calebs land in the same small-town kindergarten class. These days, little McKenzie's daddy is drinking IPA. Yes, it's been a few years since the cognoscenti had the great debate about IPA: What does the style's popularity mean, and where do things go from here? Back then, everyone agreed that craft's top-selling style needed to evolve a bit. It has, mostly in the form of super-citrusy new brews, many of which are actually part radler and spiked with fruit juice. Out in the boonies, though, the initial IPA ripple is still running. At the proudly rural Heathen Brewing—the Vancouver brewery is housed in a garage outside an exurban McMansion, where the air hangs heavy with pine and the purr of an idling diesel pickup driven by a guy in shit-kickers—half the lineup is a branch of the IPA tree, including two regular IPAs and the Vantucky Pale Ale. It comes in bottles, but you want it fresh from the taps, where the juicy Mosaic hops offer apricot and less farmy funk. These country folk have something good here. The man behind it? Awesomely named brewmaster Rodney Stryker. Recommended.
WWeek 2015