I’ve had a couple 11 Below beers that I felt were good, but were nothing great. Mostly drinkable to enjoy on a golf course during a warm summer morning, their beers are best described as crushable.
Then came Color Blind Red IPA, the rainbow and unicorn beer. This beer is not one I would think about shotgunning or chugging, but rather enjoying with a meal. Unlike most IPAs, this beer is very malty with a gentle bitterness on the finish. The IPA market is flooded with beers that generally taste the same and blend similar hops as other brews. Although Mosaic is the primary hop in the beer, you don’t get the same taste profile as A Pale Mosaic. Not even a little bit.
Instead of the stereotypical citrus, pine, or dank flavor of most IPAs, this beer has more of a caramel flavor. Most of this is created by the use of Munich malt and the complex addition of hops taking the beer to 64 IBU.
I enjoyed this beer with some pasta. The tomato sauce and black pepper I added to the pasta intensified the maltiness of the beer instead of the hops, so my experience was more pleasurable with this coming across as a heavier IPA. This allowed me to enjoy one beer and feel completely satisfied (even though I ended up drinking two because it was so good).
Ultimately, this is going to be a regular in my lineup and I can’t believe it took me so long to try it. 11 Below is one of the more underrated breweries in Houston and I hope this beer and Negative Space put them in the spotlight.