Slyfox 113 IPA

The Sly Fox Brewing Company is a great local success story from the mid-nineties when craft breweries were known simply as microbreweries, six taps were all you needed, and I had to use a fake ID to get a drink. The Sly Fox made the transition into the much more diverse and artisanal world of contemporary craft to become one of the more respected brew pubs in the greater Philadelphia area.

Having spent a lot of time at the original Phoenixville location, it pains me a bit to read 'Royersford, PA' on the can, where a second draft room later opened and the brewing operations moved. While we're on the subject, that is indeed a can that you see in the photo. Long associated with macro lager swill, new cost efficiencies in the canning process are making the aluminum vessel a viable option for smaller brewers. The upside is that cans reduce light-strike to your hops, the downside - just don't drink directly from the can.

Named after the state road that I grew up on, 113 IPA is a throwback beer to days of bicycle rides and hanging outside of now defunct video rental stores. Not violently hoppy the way we associate with the American IPA style, the cracked and toasty malt backbone evokes the original British IPAs in both flavor and color. You can almost taste a few months of barrel aging in the hold of a frigate.

The canned variety adds another layer of nautical metaphor when the agitated seafoam head forms after a moderate pour into your favorite pint glass or tulip, and also provides a mouthfeel similar to an English 'real ale' hand pump cask. Of course, you'll also find this local hero on draft in many taprooms in the Philly area, usually alongside a rotating Sly Fox seasonal.

About Beer Geek Steve:
Steve spends as much time as his wife will let him tracking down rare beers and trying to analyze the intersection between quality beer, hype, and viral marketing. When he's not reviewing beer for Drink Philly, he writes about his adventures in chasing bottles and taps at his blog, Beer Geek Steve. You can also follow him on Twitter, where he tweets about happenings in the craft beer industry and often locates some of the best barrels in southeast PA.