Top 100 Beers of 2021

#10

96
Too Pure To Be Pink
Wild Leap Brew Co.

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Chief Brewing Officer Chris Elliott Talks Too Pure To Be Pink

Who was responsible for this beer’s recipe?
My team and I developed the recipe for this beer to complement this season’s Pink Boots Blend from Yakima Chief Hops.

What sets this beer apart from other examples within the style?
This hop blend was great to work with this year, it was a perfect mix of our favorite varieties.

What makes this beer truly World Class?
At Wild Leap, we take a lot of pride in the development of our IPAs, especially the double IPAs like Too Pure To Be Pink. We feel like this is one of our best IPA recipes.

What is your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, etc.)?
The flavor of this beer. The hop blend was perfect, and we used a large dry hop to get the juicy flavors.

How popular is this beer among your faithful fans?
We have a lot of demand for this beer, so we release it every year when the Pink Boots hop blend becomes available.

Where does this beer’s name come from?
The quote “she’s too pure to be pink,” from the movie Grease!

Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
Yes! We began our collaboration with members of the Pink Boots Society last year with our first release of “Too Pure To Be Pink.” Most of the management positions in our company are currently held by female employees, and this was a great opportunity to celebrate the women who work in our industry and get most of the women on our staff to get involved in the brewing process. Also the packaging day fell perfectly on International Women’s Day,  so we decided to make this a seasonal release each year in early March.

Judge’s Second Opinion

Wild Leap’s Too Pure To Be Pink was a standout double IPA and a beer that I appreciated even more once I learned the story behind it. A good IPA showcases hop flavor and aroma. A great IPA showcases hop flavor and aroma in a way that keeps your palate engaged throughout the entire glass of beer. This beer utilized the Yakima Chief Hops Pink Boots Blend which consisted of: Cashmere, Ahtanum, Citra, Loral and Sabro hops. This annual blend, which is hand-selected by members of the Pink Boots Society, provided a high level of hop complexity that was the perfect vehicle for creating a world-class double IPA.

Double IPA is a challenging style to brew because it requires very precise balance in order to have great drinkability. A minuscule change in alcohol content, bitterness or residual sweetness can drastically affect the perception and enjoyment of the beer. Too Pure To Be Pink was remarkable because it walked a tightrope of balance to perfection. It’s not too boozy, but it has enough alcohol warmth to remind you it was a double IPA. The hop bitterness was enough to keep things from being sweet but didn’t overwhelm the beer. A huge cornucopia of hop aromas and flavors were present, but it lacked the unpleasant astringent harshness sometimes found with highly hopped examples of this style. The Pink Boots Society’s mission statement is to assist, inspire and encourage women in alcoholic beverage industry professions to advance their careers through education. There are more than 50 chapters across the United States and chapters on four continents! 2021 has seemed like a turning point for empowering women in what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. Too Pure To Be Pink was not only a world-class example of its style but it was also socially and politically relevant. Wild Leap has now brewed this beer two years in a row using the Pink Boots Blend of hops (which changes every year). I look forward to Wild Leap brewing round #3 in 2022 and continuing to do a great job celebrating the women at Wild Leap and women across the craft beer community. – Sean Coughlin