When I was a kid in the 70’s my grandma taught me how to eat a grapefruit—the yellow kind. It wasn’t so much that I had a choice; it was because
that was breakfast, plus toast and butter, milk or juice. Back then the Ruby Red Grapefruit didn’t exist; only the pure tart “Greyhound” type grapefruit was available. The way she made the “sour” fruit palatable for us was sugar. After slicing the fruit in half, in bowl, she would be in charge of the “sugar sprinkling”—for some reason we weren’t allowed to sprinkle the sugar, maybe because we were “reckless kids.” In my mind, the correct amount of sugar, a.k.a. my “palatable criteria” was the appearance fresh fallen snow on top, obscuring the yellow sour bomb underneath. Then she brought out the most glorious of utensils: the serrated spoon! For some reason I thought it was an amazing tool—jagged edges on a miniature spade. I perceived it as the most wonderfully teasing of childhood play-toys; forbidden to play with because it was a functional household item used only for cutting into grapefruit. I wanted to dig for sure with this wonderful tool, providing another attraction to devouring grapefruit. Her method was sawing each pulpy triangle section free inside the rind to make “dishing out” easy. For some reason the taste grew on me, and perhaps that’s the reason I still have a taste for grapefruit. Especially nowadays, since we have the genetic masterpiece known as “Ruby Red,” something I wish grandma had been around to taste. Now they even make things like Ruby Red Grapefruit pies! Maybe I’ll try making that at some point, but for now I’m just paying tribute to the grapefruit—especially since my fondness for IPA’s has to do with what I refer to as “the ruby red grapefruit factor”—something I love tasting in a hop-pronounced ale.
Earlier this year I discovered that New Belgium Brewery started “getting hoppy” with their brewing production, specifically their seasonal ale “Mighty Arrow” and also, their masterpiece of an IPA, RANGER.
Driven towards “sustainability” and “community” New Belgium Brewery located in Fort Collins, Colorado is a humanitarian effort. Check out their awesome website and fall in love!
RANGER IPA, NEW BELGIUM BREWERY, FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
Color: Liquid-gold-amber
6.5% alcohol by volume (ABV)
Awesome burp factor (ABF): the burning eruption of returning flavor, highly appreciated
Tasting notes: Lingering slightly-juicy ruby red grapefruit, with a mid-palate dry-hop-pepper
Pub notes: I wish this was served on draft at every pub and bar in the world—world peace through the IPA!!!
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