Step 1: Red Hook Long Hammer IPA
ABV: 6.2%
IBUs: 44
If you drank step 10, and pissed it into a cup, you would have Long Hammer. This is the IPA for domestic drinkers. It almost has the bare minimum IBUs necessary to even be considered an IPA. For how weak Longhammer is, it is better than most Bud products in my opinion, and is marketed as such. This drink is made for the Bud lover and provides an excellent stepping stone to enjoying stronger hoppier beers. The lack of intense bitter flavor makes it drinkable for your first IPA but will subtley get your brain adjusted to what hoppy beers taste like. That’s what this is all about, getting you adjusted nice and slowly.
Also excellent news for the Bud consumer, you can get Longhammer in a 6 pack of cans! That way, you can even close your eyes and pretend that you are drinking bud light, but in reality, you are drinking a far superior product that is training your brain to understand and appreciate higher levels of bitterness.
I would just like to make a note here, that I have nothing against Bud, Miller, or Coors. I mean, I wouldn’t order one, but if I was hanging with some friends and that was all there was I wouldn’t complain. Beer is about having a good time and enjoying a wonderful beverage with people you like, or people you can at least tolerate. If Bud, Miller, or Coors is the facilitator of such an occassion, so be it.
Instructions:
Buy a 6 pack of bottled or canned Long Hammer and drink within 1 week. I think you can get them at Safeway or Albertsons for like $10.
If possible, go to the closest Red Hook brewery (for WA residents there is one in Woodinville) and take the tour. Its only a dollar. You get a healthy amount of beer and a pretty good time for only a buck. Afterwards you can have lunch or dinner and have Long Hammer off the tap.
Leave a can of Bud Light out of the fridge until it is room temperture. Drink. Repeat with any reputable craft beer, you could even use Long Hammer. Make note of the taste differences.
