Some of the tastiest beers aren’t made in isolation, they make their way into bottles after winning over the locals as ontap hits . That’s why I love craft beer stories like Wildcard Brewing’s limited release Ruby Red Grapefruit IPA.  

A couple of years back at a Wildcard party they put a whole grapefruit in a cask of their

citrusy-hopped North State IPA. After that, people kept asking for it at their taproom. They played around with a couple different types of grapefruit and found Ruby Red to be the best. Using just the juice, no peel, Ruby Red Grapefruit IPA bursts with bright flavors of juicy grapefruit and layers of tropical hops -- the rest is history.

Aromas of orange blossoms and fresh pine needles tumble into luscious Ruby Red grapefruit from Citra Hops. Bursts of passionfruit and earthy resin from Simcoe Hops blend with tropical notes of ripe papaya and tangerine zest from Mosaic Hops. This hop medley provides a bitter 70 IBU backdrop for fruit-forward notes while ending with a mild bitter citrus finish.

Taste this IPA story for yourself, it’s a dashing tale of fresh squeezed juiciness. SPOILER ALERT: it has a hoppy ending.