Alright, baby is in bed and wife is out with her sisters, so why not drink a beer and see what our analysis can provide us with. Today I will be Brewviewing Deep Cut by Big Ditch Brewing Company. Much of the names Big Ditch creates for their beer draws inspiration from Buffalo’s Erie Canal and the history behind it. This is true for Deep Cut, which pays tribute to the completion of the canal which required a complete leveling of a 7 mile section of the canal that was 40 feet deep. Holy Nuts!!! May not seem like much for us today with all our huge construction trucks, but this was all done by hand. I cannot fathom how much labor was required, all I can say is hopefully they were able to drink beer on their breaks. Now, hopefully Deep Cut can live up to its name.I must say I’m confident in Big Ditch, I have yet to drink a beer by them that has left me displeased. So let’s get digging.
The Beer: Deep Cut by Big Ditch Brewing Company
ABV: 8.5% IBU: 98
Hop Profile: Nugget
Citra
Calypso
Meridian
Malt Profile: 2-Row
Munich
Before diving in I just want to say this will be my first experience with Meridian and Calypso hops. Or it may in fact be my first knowing of their use in the beer I’m consuming at the time. Either way it adds a little more excitement.
I wish you could see the smile on my face right after cracking the can open and pouring the beer into my glass. This beer produces such delicious aromas. Allowing for the creation of an enticing and mouth watering anticipation to what this beer has in store for us. From the facts I was able to pull about the hops used, I’m thinking these aromas are derived from the Citra and Calypso hops. I was unable to find much on Meridian hops, but from what I did find they are used more for flavor. And Nugget hops are known to be an excellent bittering hop. With that being said, thank you Citra and Calypso hops for producing such delicious aromas. Before I move on I think it’d be appropriate to be more specific about which aromas are produced by which hop. So with another sniff, I’m getting the quintessential mango/citrus aroma from the Citra hops. Alongside those I am getting some fruity aromas which I’ve read come from Calypso hops. Again these are smooth aromas, not too offensive that it overwhelms your senses. I’d say it provides a nice warm up for whats to come.
Let’s look at the appearance of this beer. It’s got some haze to it, not to an amount that’d make you think it’s an NEIPA. Just enough that it’s not crystal clear but you’re still able to see through it. Color wise a nice golden straw color. This is me just hypothesizing, but when I’m looking at the malts used I’d say this color is primarily from the 2-Row, with some slight addition from the Munich. The literature I’ve read says that Munich malts are a nice addition for IPAs if you’re looking to increase the complexity of the beer. Which from what Big Ditch has said about this beer that seems right to me. But color wise they tend to produce an amber colored ale, which is what pushes me into 2-Row’s corner for the primary color contributor. Now I could be wrong, I am always open to feed back and I can even take some light criticism. Provided that there is a cuddle session afterwards.
So how does this beer taste?
Well, one of the first things I noticed was the bitterness. This is not a bad thing, but it is highly noticeable right away. I will get back to that when the time calls for it. Taste wise I am getting a lot of tropical flavors with a back bone of citrus/mango. It all comes together in such a beautiful and delicious way. I’ve had the experience with some IPAs that have a primary taste of citrus and it can be over powering. Not in this case, it’s a nice refreshing combination of the citrus/mango and tropical flavors. It’s certainly not hard to see where all of these flavors are coming from. Mostly the Citra and Calypso, but I am not going to leave out the Meridian hops. The limited research I was able to find on these hops says it provides a sweet sugary taste. I am able to notice this but not in such a way that it’s right up front. I guess knowing your beer info pays off! Another attribute of Meridian hops is their creation of a clean and crisp flavor. Spot on in that respect. The previously mentioned clean and crisp flavor gives way to such a delicious bitterness. Thanks to the Nugget hops used, which I am not surprised with an alpha acid range of 15-18%. The IBU rating of 98 could not have been more accurate in my mind. Now I know malts can have a flavor addition as well, but I am not getting anything that I could pin to them. The only thing I could say malt wise is the body of this beer is full. Even after a few moments I still have a thick creamy feeling in my mouth from the previous sip. There are times where this can be frustrating, but not in this specific moment in time. It gives me peace of mind knowing there is more where that came from. That is until the can is empty, anyone else thinking beer run?
So let’s bring it in here fellow beer drinkers. I feel that I had a lot to say about this beer and I’m guessing Big Ditch made this beer in an ambitious and complex manner that required extra time for a complete and thorough evaluation. There was no way I was going to sell this beer short, and I’m thinking I gave it the time it deserved. My rating for this beer is 4.75/5. With higher ABV beers, I find there are times the alcohol can add some disheartening flavors to the beer. Not with this beer, being 8.5% and as crisp as it was I would say this beer is deliciously dangerous. Not a bad characteristic for a beer, just don’t be stupid and start slamming them back. With the high rating I gave this beer, I would like to give further praise to it and the brewers at Big ditch. Deep Cut is an award winning beer(I’m not surprised), in 2016 at the TAP NY craft beer festival this beer was awarded the silver medal in the Strong IPA category. CONGRATS BIG DITCH!! That is quite the accomplishment!
Thanks for reading folks and if you find yourself with more free time please visit my friend Brian’s Youtube channel Buffalo Beer Reviews! He was the main motivation behind me starting this blog.
Cheers!!
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