29 Apr Sigma I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycle

Sigma I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycle

Sigma Brewing Company

EADO, Second Ward, Houston
Hazy DIPA
ABV: 8%
IBUs: ?
Packaging: Draft, 4 Pack 16oz cans delivered by Hop Drop

Sigma and perfect 90s movies references. Name a more iconic duo. I’ll wait.

When I first saw Sigma I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycle was releasing this weekend, I was hoping Hop Drop could come through for me. We spent the weekend at the Wild West Brew Fest, and while we had more fun than a T1000 shape-shifting into your mother, that FOMO is real, and Sigma’s release was definitely heavy on my mind.

The beer’s named after one of the most amazing scenes from one of the most amazing movies ever, and to be honest, that’s a lot of hype to live up to. If anybody can do it, it’s Nick and Matt over in Second Ward’s own Sigma Brewing Company.

Here in the last year and change, they’ve been consistently pushing the boundaries with a variety of styles, and nailing it like John Conner was in After Burner before that pesky T1000 came and cut his game short. My favorite thing about them has got to be their boyish good looks, skillful pop-culture references, and their ability to reimagine beer styles without completely breaking the rules.

This Sigma I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycle is yet another prime example of this. It pours a delectable orange-yellow that’s more opaque than real juice, and the creamy, off-white head, sprinkles down the glass delicately.

Sigma doesn’t do many delicate beers, and Terminator wasn’t a delicate dude, so let’s get down to the leather-jacket wearing, no-name taking, butt-kicking parts of their Hazy DIPA. THE SMELL! Holy pistol grip pump, Batman! When I cracked the can, my wife could smell it from the other side of the room. Tangy aromas of peaches, watermelon, and a bit of dank grapefruit all combine into something that just oozes tropical and fruity without an ounce of fruit being involved.

Once I stuck my beak into the glass, I knew I was in for it. It’s a post-apocalyptic IPA that returned to save my life. “All hazy IPAs are the same,” “Same few hops, same few beers,” these sort of comments are pure garbage, and Sigma keeps proving it, hence the bit about reimagining above.

There’s nothing soft about the aroma, but there’s something soft and subtle about the mouthfeel. Then BOOM. Gatlin gun of flavor assaulting my tongue with citrus, tropical fruit, melons and stone fruit from the El Dorado and Simcoe hops. There’s an earthy finish that’s a little dank, and I like it like that. All the tangy, fruity, and earthy hop flavors help to balance out the candy-like sweetness.

In one breath, it’s a terrific example of a New England IPA, yet in another regard, it’s a fresh take on the style similar to Spirit Journey, Nude Tayne, and Dick Jones. Each one killed it, and each one was somehow a bit different than all the others that came before it. There’s something uniquely spicy, earthy, and herbal about their IPAs, and I can’t get enough of it.

It’s hard to imagine a real beer connoisseur that can’t recognize and appreciate beer this good, but it’s even harder to imagine that we have it at weekly releases and even delivered to our homes daily thanks to Hop Drop. You can get some cans delivered straight to your door. And in this case, Hop Drop is the only way to get it because Sigma sold out on the day of! (That’s a clear indicator that they’re growing out of that “sleeper” brewery status and becoming sought after, so start lining up.) Use code “BEERCHRONICLE” for 10% off your beer delivery.