Bearded Iris' bold, hoppy beers

Starting with Habit, their debut IPA in the halcyon days of 2015, Bearded Iris has continued to push the boundaries of IPA in Music City, a style that had received cursory attention in Nashville. Most breweries had IPAs but few sought them out.

But Bearded Iris pushes boundaries with its IPA lineup.  Along with 32-ounce crowlers, it sells most of its lineup in limited release 4-packs of 16-oz. cans. While they sell them around Nashville and neighboring markets, I work minutes from the brewery and obtained all my cans there.

Two years ago, Nancy and I attended a launch party for their Habit IPA, a bright, piney number unlike any brewed in Nashville. On a camping trip last year, I brought a growler of their Homestyle IPA, their oated IPA brewed with grassy, sublime Mosaic hops. The addition of oats in the malt added fresh dimensions when paired with Mosaic.

If I refer to pale ale among the IPA references, don't be surprised - their pale ales are a long way from English stalwarts Bass and Whitbread. Bearded Iris’ pale ales might qualify as other brewers’ IPAs. I found this true of both Again & Again and Acid Test, both hopped to the level of DIPAs.

Foamy and opaque, Again and Again has a big citrus profile, mostly orange mingling with grapefruit, tangerine and hints of lemon. The complex unfiltered citrus is still approachable; PA does not hide from its malt backbone, nor should it. The hop payload overshadows those sweeter attributes but Again & Again does not weaken. Dank at times, Again and Again also boasts a bone-dry, biscuity finish, the kind too many brewers fail to push, especially in lower-alcohol pale ale.

Acid Test boasts a similarly huge hop presence, and I’m eager for more. It uses hopped with Vic Secret, Cascade, Centennial, Columbus,  and Chinook hops. Needless to say, the citrus and pine shine through. The brewery’s DIPAs are no slouches either.

Double Scatterbrain might be one of the more mellow double IPAs I’ve ever drank, and I mean that as a compliment. With oats in the malt and brewed only with Simcoe hops, it’s a different animal. Lots of robust orange character and piney notes, but nothing in Double Scatterbrain erupts onto the palate. I’m okay with a big IPA backing off the standard hop assault of some bigger beers. It might not be everyone’s favorite, but a beer with a heavy orange flavor profile and other hoppy notes is always welcome in my glass. For a variation, I’d love to see Double Scatterbrain with a Belgian yeast, since its bold citrus character runs close to Belgian blonde and Belgian triple-style ales.

A second DIPA, Red Handed is another hazy blood orange-bodied delight. Lots of tangerine and mango here. The pine needle and pine resin notes serve as the glue and only offer balanced bitterness on the palate. Some other dark fruits, possibly blackberries, sneaks in. A little booziness crept upon me, announcing that 8 percent ABV. There’s a malt backbone that rises late palate, but this is a bruiser touting its hops all along.

Bearded Iris has a handful of previously released IPAs and more big hoppy beers in the pipeline. I can't wait to taste what they deliver next. 

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