Perhaps you’ve never heard of the Beverage Testing Institute. But if you’re a fan of top shelf tipples you most certainly are affected by the work it carries out. The organization was initially founded back in 1981 as an international wine competition. In 1994, beer, spirits, cider and sake were added to the mix and the mission was broadened to include ongoing product evaluation, in compliance with ASTM standards.
What this all boils down to is that BTI is more than mere competition. The sensory panelists involved in evaluating are applying a scientific methodology. Indeed, some of them have even been literal scientists. Additionally, as opposed to having a dedicated set of annual winners, the BTI is continually updating a list on its website, which showcases the top-scoring beer, wines, and spirits in any given month.
That score can go all the way up to 100, with few expressions ever attaining theoretical perfection. The India Pale Ale we’re talking about today, however, came darn close. It’s a hazy offering from Fremont Brewing—a revered craft operation based out of the eponymous neighborhood in Seattle, WA. Back in January of 2018, the brewery debuted a series of Hazy IPAs called Head Full of Dynomite.
The Fremont Troll seen on July 15, 2014 in Seattle, Washington.
We can’t tell you why the folks behind it decided to misspell its title, but we can say that it was an immediate hit. A new version in the series has rolled out every few months ever since. Which is a good thing, considering that the shelf life on these sorts of heavily-hopped creations isn’t much more than 60 days. The exact expression that really wowed the BTI tasters was Version 33. They described it thusly:
“Hazy light gold color. Aromas of orange oil, pineapple, mango, cannabis, and apricot with a velvety, lively, finely carbonated, dryish light-to-medium body and a smooth, layered, long juniper, cranberry, and pine finish. A balanced, sumptuous Hazy IPA.”
They proceeded to award it 98 points. That was on December 15th, 2021. It remains their top-scoring IPA to this day. In fact, there’s only one other beer—across all styles— that has ever scored higher (a certain Belgian ale that’s been brewed by Trappist monks for nearly 200 years). The accolade was soon validated at the 2022 World Beer Championships, where V. 33 of Head Full of Dynomite took home the Platinum Medal for Best American Style IPA, along with Best In Show.
So, yeah. There’s something special about this one. And yes, it’s a bit upsetting that the last time it hit shelves was in November of 2021. But there’s no reason to be bitter. The Head Full of Dynomite series is very much still a thing. Fremont just recently trotted out V. 56. While it relies on an entirely different hops and malt profile for its respective identity, there is still a mango and cannabis punch to its nose that calls back to the critical darling of yesteryear. It is also canned at the same ABV of 6.8% with a comparable mouthfeel to its predecessor. Best of all, 4-packs of it are readily available at $15. All this is to say, if you’re a fan of meticulously-crafted, unfiltered American IPA that holds complexity and depth as opposed to uni-dimensional hoppy juice, these are the cans you are looking for:
Recent releases in the Head Full of Dynomite series of Hazy IPAs.