I’m going to make a blanket statement, that is easily argued…but none-the-less right in my book. When the average person thinks of craft beer (even the average craft beer drinker) an IPA pops into their mind. There is no denying that the style is popular, and that drinkers crave hops. I don’t think that when Braxton set out brewing, they wanted to have a lineup of a ton of IPAs, it’s been done before. What they wanted was a well-rounded lineup of a lot of different styles, that met the different needs of craft beer drinkers.
But their fans… oh they like their hops. Braxton has been pouring their crank shaft IPA since their doors opened back in 2015. It’s a great IPA, and one that a lot of people fell in love with – but it doesn’t hit that sweet spot for what IPAs are super popular with drinkers right now, and one of the things that makes Braxton so great is their ability to listen to what their loyal drinkers are saying. They wanted something different. In an effort to meet those needs, Braxton is Revamping their core lineup with a new IPA, dubbed Revamp.
About Revamp
This IPA makes its mark as a tropical, fruit forward beer. It replaces Crank Shaft as the year round core IPA from Braxton and will be available in cans, as well as on draft.
It’s 6.5% ABV, and crisp 60 IBUs should hit right in the sweet spot for IPAs that people love to love in today’s hopcentric craft beer market. Braxton makes no bones about it, their Chief Operating Officer, Evan Rouse is quick to point out that IPAs make up around 44% of the craft beer market. He goes on to say that Crank Shaft might have been a beer that was loved by the brewing team… but that it just never restonated with the craft beer consumers.
The beer uses Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe, and Chinook hops – if you’re a fan of any of the bright, citrusy, tropical IPAs that are around the country… you should probably give it a try. From the beer’s description:
Perfection is a combination of hard work and having the gust to change. It’s not always perfect the first time around and it takes determination to make every drop count. Revamp is an easy drinking American IPA that brings forward notes of tropical fruit flavor with a bright citrus aroma. The bitterness is more rounded than most, due to primarily late hop additions and dry hopping. Go ahead, enjoy your new go-to IPA.
As Crank Shaft gets phased out, you’ll start to see Revamp appearing in its place. The taping of the beer will be on Friday, February 17th, and cans will be released on March 10th all around town. You can join the can release party on Facebook here.
Note: If you want to read more details about the beer, I have tasting notes up where you can do exactly that!