Another canned MadTree beer on the way (PsycHOPathy IPA)

Because the TTB COLA search (if you don’t know what that means, don’t worry your head) doesn’t seem to be listing all the newly approved beer label approvals, this one managed to slip past us. We scooped the keg approval for this one a little while back, but it seems that MadTree recently got label approved for their can-packaged version of their PsycHOPathy IPA recently, as well. Because they’re such sweet gents, they sent on just about everything you’d need to know about this beer in advance of it hitting distribution.

I have to say, I am really enjoying their labels. While the artwork outside of the bottle clearly is not as important as what’s inside, it’s nice that they’re proud enough of what they’re producing to have some local artists produce some very cool work. Outside of their can labels, the only other local labels I can remember thinking “wow, that’s pretty neat” about are Rivertown’s big bottles (Lambic, Geuze, etc).

I’m very much looking forward to the packaged version of this. Columbus (Columbus IPA, Bodhi) and Cleveland (Head Hunter, White Rajah) has been kicking Cincinnati’s ass all over the place with great IPAs for so long that it will be nice to see some real American, West-Coast style IPAs made in the Queen City. Fifty West is already putting together a great beer of this style with Coast to Coast, but until they start packaging their beer, it makes it tough to get ahold of.

Anyways, I’m sure you’d like to hear about the beer, so without further ado, here are the pertinent details from Kenny at MadTree (after the jump, of course):

MadTree PsycHOPathy IPA
ABV: ~7.0%
Hops: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook
OG: 1.063
FG:1.010
IBU: 70

The IPA is probably the beer that we brewed the most iterations of on the homebrew level. The recipe changed nearly every time because we just never could settle on a final product. Going back about a year ago, we were struggling to get the bitterness out of the beer regardless of how well it was hopped. But once we started modifying the water (filtering and introducing various additives to the mash and sparge, such as calcium and magnesium) we were able to get more of the profile we were after. Fortunately, we are now running what is likely some of the purest water in Cincinnati (Zeolite followed by Reverse Osmosis, followed by UV light) which gives us a blank canvas to create the perfect water profile for the beer.

In my opinion, the hops, with a generous Chinook and Centennial at the dry hop, provide a slightly catty and dank aroma with a hint of citrus and peppercorn. Of course everyone may have a different interpretation. Oh, and there is a nice crystal malt balance to hops. There is some malt complexity with Vienna and Caramel 40 without taking away from the hop showcase. Once again, all just the opinion of my taste buds.

The illustration (inkblot) was created by Margaret Weiner of the Seedy Seeds, a local Cincinnati band. The idea is that the IPA is a little more hop forward and “mad”, if you will, so we wanted to portray the madness and open interpretation with the illustration. I’m very interested in hearing what all people see in the illustration.

Distribution will begin at beer fest, with plans to get it to bars toward the end of the following week. No official venues have been set, but we should have that information in the next few days.