Golden Road unveils Wolf Among Weeds double IPA

After reworking the brewery’s flagship Point the Way IPA, Golden Road Brewing’s new Brewmaster Jesse Houck set his sights on Golden Road’s Wolf Among Weeds double IPA, and the reimagined beer is hitting taps Wednesday.

The original Wolf Among Weeds was the first release in Golden Road’s “Custom IPA” series, and when it was released in August 2012, “The Wolf” became a fan favorite for the Atwater brewery. The beer had an intense hop aroma and the rich malty body needed to support all those hops, but the Golden Road crew wasn’t happy to leave the formulation alone. This year’s batch of Wolf Among Weeds is a whole-new recipe, and Brewmaster Jesse has dried the beer out while retaining all of the hop-punch that made it a hit the first time around.

I had the opportunity to sample the new recipe fresh from the brewery’s holding tank Tuesday, and the beer is even more of a hop-showcase this year. Jesse’s take on Wolf Among Weeds pours a very light gold with a sticky head that exudes tropical fruit aromas. The body is lighter than the original, but the addition of rye to the beer adds a nice complexity. The beer showcases a mix of new world hops, and their flavors and aromas are layered and dense with citrus, pineapple and peach (and that musty, earthy background note that is so popular these days). The new-look Wolf Among Weeds is easily the hoppiest beer to come out of the Golden Road brewhouse, and its abundant hop character and assertive bitter finish should please L.A.’s hop-heads.

The beer is making its debut on tap at the Tony Yanow properties (Tony’s Darts Away in Burbank, Mohawk Bend in Silverlake, and the Pub at the brewery) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. before rolling out to Golden Road draft accounts later this month. Four-packs of 16-ounce cans of the new Wolf Among Weeds will also be available at select Whole Foods and bottle shops in early April.

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