“So what’s new on tap?” I ask the bartender at Henry’s 12th Street Tavern.

“Only the best double IPA I’ve ever had.”

Wow. Those are big words in a big beer town… and Portland, Oregon (aka Beervana) is one helluva big beer town. So when you’re hearing those kind of accolades at a place that has 100 regional microbrews on tap, you know you’re about to experience a one-of-a-kind beer.

“Who’s it by?” I inquire.

“Boneyard, of course.”

Of course. These brewers from Bend, Oregon have been serving up my absolute favorite beer of the summer, the Boneyard RPM IPA. This bodes well.

The bartender agrees: “Seriously, all year long, every time I crave an IPA and their RPM’s on tap, I’m going for the RPM. And it’s not that there aren’t tons of great IPAs on tap— but each time I order a different one, I’m like ‘Sure, it’s good, but it’s no Boneyard’.”

“So what’s this one called?”

“Boneyard Hop Venom Double IPA. It’s so smooth and the hops have this amazing rush that’s hard to describe. It’s getting rave reviews: people have been comparing it to the legendary Pliny The Elder Double IPA.”

“Sweet, pour me up!”

Nectar of the gods – image © Boneyard Beer

And so it arrives: a beautiful dark orange, lightly-headed pint of sweet ambrosia. I raise the glass to my nose and get a stinging blast of hops and pine. Oh yeah, here we go.

The bartender wasn’t lying. The first sip starts with this incredibly smooth yet deliciously bitter burst of citrus and pine which gradually tapers off into a earthy toffee-flavored sensation. This 80 IBU beer may be be 10% ABV, but the flavor masks the high alcohol content so well I could easily mistaken this beer for something lighter. The malty aftertaste settles in gently, leaving just the slightest hint of booze in the mouth. I immediately crave another taste.

The Scuba Geek’s Verdict

You must try the Boneyard Hop Venom Double IPA! No hyperbole: best Double IPA I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking. How good is it? Good enough to make me immediately crack open the laptop and start hacking out this post— I just had to tell the world about this beer!

It’s still a bit hard-to-find around the Pacific Northwest, but if the runaway success of Boneyard’s RPM IPA this past summer is any indicator, it won’t be long before it’s popularity bring it to a pub near you.