Last week, we posted our impressions of three beers at the Hart & Thistle on the Halifax waterfront. We gushed about the Madman IPA and revelled in the surprising availability of one of our favourites, the Imperial ESB Collaboration Ale; however, we felt that the Rocketman Double IPA (DIPA) didn't really live up to our expectations. Noting that our palates may have been compromised by salty, spicy nachos, we vowed to return and try it again. True to our word, we returned across the harbour last Friday evening, beset by slush and wet snow. Foregoing the nachos this time, we ordered a round of the Rocketman.
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| A beacon of craft beer guides us across the harbour. |
How wrong we had been. Like the girl with the big glasses and overalls in a Freddie Prinze, Jr. movie, a second look, unclouded by previous judgement (or in our case, jalapenos), revealed the latent beauty beneath. And so, with hope of forgiveness, I offer the following letter of apology to Rocketman DIPA:
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Dear Rocketman,
What a difference a week makes. When we first met, I was so preoccupied with my delicious snack that I... I just didn't appreciate you. So voracious in my appetite for spicy peppers, I failed to notice your nuance, your substance, and perhaps most glaring, your fragrance. We had lamented your lack of a citrus nose, but it was there! Juicy orange and intoxicating. Our second meeting revealed your true balance; malty sweetness intertwined with distinct and lingering bitterness. I finally appreciated the warmth of your alcohol, telling me 'hey, I'm here,' but not going so far as to kick off its shoes and dance on the bar.
Rocketman, I was wrong, and I'm sorry. I'm just glad that you gave me a second chance. I won't be so quick to judge in the future. And I'll never, ever, base my impressions of a beer on a post-nacho tasting again.
Yours forever... or at least until your keg runs out,
Earl
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Phew. Just had to get that out there. Catharsis via apology to an inanimate object; don't remember that one from Intro Psych (probably for good reason).
Well done in avoiding any obvious Elton John references in your review of the Rocketman DIPA.
ReplyDelete'She's all that' is a much more subtle, and romantic, reference. Nikki influenced?
I would have gone for a Pipa Middleton reference of some kind.