Zilker Marco IPA

Well I wasn't expecting this to be my next post, but I've ended up hanging out at Zilker Brewing Company's brewery this Saturday and I've decided it's definitely worth writing about!  I actually hadn't ever tried Zilker's beer before, so it was quite a nice surprise to find out that this is another local brew I should be sipping on now and again.  The brewery only just opened in early 2015, which is even since I've been living here, so perhaps that's why I hadn't visited them as it doesn't quite have the hype that some of the more established Austin breweries have yet.  Although clearly this was a mistake on my part for not getting here sooner, especially with it being so close to downtown and easy to get to.

 

Zilker Brewing Company - just a neighbourhood brewery!

 

Also, I'm well aware that so far the only posts on this blog are about IPAs, and I was determined to break that pattern.  The Marco IPA that Zilker brew, however, is easily my favourite that I've tasted today - and I got a flight plus an extra sample, so I've tried all of their beers apart from the stout (which I doubt I'd like anyway...).  I believe that this may have been the beer that inspired the owners to start the brewery too, after it won a gold at a homebrew competition, so I guess it's appropriate that this was the beer that really caught my attention.  I almost wrote about their Honey Blonde though, which is a very light and refreshing ale and very subtly sweet.  I was told that it does not actually contain any honey, as you may expect, but the sweetness comes from the malts used.  I'd say this made it better as some beers with honey added that I've had in the past get a little sickly after one can.

 

Anyway, what I loved about the Marco IPA was that it's not just all about the hops - there's a strong malt presence here.  This level of maltiness is definitely more in line with that of an amber, which is usually the beer style that I prefer, and probably why I loved this beer so much.  As soon as you take a sip, however, it's the hops that hit you first, so you still know you're drinking an IPA, don't worry! 

 

The hops used in this beer are El Dorado and Simcoe.  From what I've found, El Dorado seems to be a slightly newer hop which brewers are using, and it leads to the overall fruity vibe for this beer.  The Simcoe brings in a bit of a piney note, but that's a little lost in the malts.  The IBU of this beer isn't listed anywhere, but I'd be willing to guess it was about 50-60.  It's also 7.0%, BTW, so I would almost categorise this as a double IPA, especially with that level of maltiness balancing out the bitterness.

 

Despite how great this beer tastes, I think what the real best thing about it is that Zilker describe the colour as Burnt Orange - so you can feel some Longhorn pride while drinking it!!  For those that don't live around Austin, the school colours for the University of Texas (whose mascot is a Texas longhorn) are burnt orange.  We may have lost against Oklahoma University in the annual Red River Showdown earlier today (in a pretty close football game, I might add!) but drinking this beer this afternoon made it all better!  The photo below here doesn't really do it justice, but trust me, in the right light it was a solid burnt orange!
 

The Zilker Marco IPA

 

I'm glad that I ended up taking the trip out to Zilker Brewing Company's brewery today, as it was great to discover yet more great local beer.  And the Marco IPA may quickly become one of my go-to IPAs that I will order whenever out at bars that have it on tap, mostly because of its strong malty profile.  They also can this one, so I'll definitely be picking up some fairly soon! 

 

And I promise that my next post will not be another IPA!!

Hook 'em Horns!

 

Clark \m/