Beer from Here: Creeper from Columbus Brewing Co.

Written by on February 28, 2013 in Beer, Beer from Here - 4 Comments

Creeper is an annually released double IPA from Columbus Brewing Company. After hearing enough rave reviews, I managed to track it down at The Pint Room in Dublin (FYI: they have beer samples for $1-$1.50, in any number, which is awesome. And great burgers. I can’t say enough good things.).

From across the bar, this might fool you. It is pale blonde with a thin head, not far off from a typical adjunct lager. Get it anywhere near your face, though, and you’ll figure it out quickly. Like your unwashed coworker, you can smell this one coming. The hop-dominated aroma is quite sharp; full of pine and grapefruit. The taste is smoother than the aroma suggests, and a big, sweet orange flavor joins pine and grapefruit up front. There are herbal and woody notes through the mid palate, and it finishes with just a hiccup of harshness and a little alcohol warmth. It is satisfyingly full-bodied, but unfortunately quite sweet.

I’ve always said that if you can’t tell your malty double IPA from a hoppy barleywine (or vice-versa), you’re probably in the right ballpark. In this case though, we have a beer stacked deep with hop complexity and only a facepunch of sweet barley from the malt. The hop flavor make this beer undeniably delicious, but CBC ought to resolve this beer’s identity crisis. It needs either a ten point drop in final gravity (double IPA) or a big leap in malt complexity (American barleywine) to take this beer from good to great.

About the Author

Sage is an engineering grad student who loves beer, cars, and guns — in that order. At least right now. A homebrewer and gay for anything Belgian.

4 Comments on "Beer from Here: Creeper from Columbus Brewing Co."

  1. Tony February 28, 2013 at 4:40 PM · Reply

    Imperial IPA. Identity crisis solved! Terminal gravity was 4 deg P

    Any perceived sweetness would be from the high alcohol content combined with the fruit flavors thrown from the hops themselves. It’s certainly not from lack of attenuation. This beer fits firmly in the Imperial IPA category.

  2. Sage Wolfe March 1, 2013 at 12:12 PM · Reply

    Tony, thanks for the info. I’m surprised, I figured it was closer to 1.025. I suppose I need to recalibrate my palate or start bringing a hydrometer to the bar!

  3. Angelothebrewer March 2, 2013 at 2:52 PM · Reply

    I think Sage prefers his beer so dry…

    that it could be put in a paper bag and it wouldn’t leak.

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