Firestone Walker Unveils Next Luponic Distortion: Flavors Through Hops

Discussion in 'Beer Releases' started by Jason, May 28, 2020.

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  1. Jason

    Jason Founder (0) Aug 23, 1996 Massachusetts

    Firestone Walker’s IPA Series Explores “Flavors Through Hops”

    Paso Robles, CA: The next release in Firestone Walker’s Luponic Distortion IPA series harnesses six hops from three continents to deliver explosive fruit flavors of peach, pear drop and dragonfruit.

    “We combined some our favorite new hops from New Zealand, Germany and the Pacific Northwest to create this really unique flavor profile,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “It’s all about showing how these distinctive fruit flavors can be achieved solely through 100-percent pure natural hops.”

    The latest edition of Luponic Distortion is now available in all Firestone Walker markets.

    Luponic Distortion is not a single beer, but rather an ongoing series of beers that rotate approximately every 120 days. While the base beer always remains the same, each release features a different hop blend built around new and experimental hops, designed to showcase the growing possibilities of pure hop aromas and flavors without any assist from fruit or other adjuncts.

    Flavors Through Hops

    The latest Luponic Distortion includes three “new school” Pacific Northwest cultivars—two with a softer, juicier character, and one with a more edgy citrus quality. “The alchemy of these three hops resulted in this cool tropical dragonfruit character,” Brynildson said.

    The beer also features two German hops that are among Brynildson’s favorite discoveries from his forays to a variety of family hop farms in Hallertau. “With these hops, it’s all about getting this fresh, bright fruit without a lot of dank character, reminiscent of ripe peach,” he said.

    Finally, there’s a New Zealand-grown hop that fittingly happens to be a cross between an American cultivar and a German cultivar. “It has this fresh peach and pear drop character that’s really distinctive,” Brynildson said. “It’s the perfect way to tie this blend together.”

    The result is the latest beer to exemplify Luponic Distortion’s mantra of “flavors through hops.”

    “Luponic Distortion is this beer that can keep morphing and stay interesting and remain out in front of this crazy new hop wave,” Brynildson said.

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    Founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker in 1996, Firestone Walker Brewing Company is an innovative California beer company with three state-of-the-art brewing facilities. Firestone Walker’s main brewery in Paso Robles produces a diverse portfolio ranging from iconic pale ales to vintage barrel-aged beers. The Barrelworks facility in Buellton makes eccentric wild ales, while the Propagator pilot brewhouse in Venice specializes in R&D beers and limited local offerings. Firestone Walker is also the brewery behind 805, one of the nation’s fastest-growing beers. Firestone Walker was recently named “Best American Brewery of the Decade” by Paste Magazine. More at FirestoneBeer.com

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  2. JBogan

    JBogan Pooh-Bah (1,837) Jul 15, 2007 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    It's a nice addition to their Luponic line. I had it a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it.
     
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  3. AZBeerDude72

    AZBeerDude72 Initiate (0) Jun 10, 2016 Arizona

    Well I hope this one is better than some of the last. I had a bunch of this series and it started out great then fizzled, least to me. Will give a can a try to see how this one came out.
    Cheers
     
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  4. Beertsipper

    Beertsipper Pooh-Bah (1,645) Nov 18, 2008 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I love their Union Jack. It's a staple in my fridge year round. The Luponic series was a let down. I much prefer New Belgiums's Voodoo IPA series.
     
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  5. CarolinaCardinals

    CarolinaCardinals Grand Pooh-Bah (4,965) Jun 11, 2003 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I thoroughly enjoyed the first quarter rendition which featured Luponic 015 and Propagator El Dorado. Always enjoy Union Jack as well. I did pick up the latest rendition last weekend. Hard to turn it down at $14.99 at the local Kroger grocer!
     
  6. CarolinaCardinals

    CarolinaCardinals Grand Pooh-Bah (4,965) Jun 11, 2003 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    @AZBeerDude72 - Dude, i think your palate had been warped by all the Tombstone IPA's you ingest LOL! Since our palate's run very similar we should get together sometime to hoist a couple of pints. Cheers, Tom
     
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  7. craigbelly

    craigbelly Pooh-Bah (2,526) Dec 31, 2015 Iowa
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Firestone must do better. The last few have been subpar. When these started out they were fantastic and now I only buy because of my love for Firestone Walker.
     
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  8. Obsidian81

    Obsidian81 Devotee (326) Mar 3, 2016 Illinois

    I wish we could get UJ around here. I loved Luponic 003. Whatever that was, bring it back!
     
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  9. AZBeerDude72

    AZBeerDude72 Initiate (0) Jun 10, 2016 Arizona

    I will admit, Tombstone @honkey has set the bar high. Honestly, with this series I used to enjoy it but it feels almost out of ideas if that makes sense, the last few offerings were not anything to remember.
    Once all this craziness subsides we will have to toss back a few pints.
    Cheers
     
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  10. joerooster

    joerooster Initiate (0) May 15, 2018 Virginia

    I don't see the Luponic Distortion beers anymore. I enjoyed a few of them but eventually our sotres/distributor weren't getting the new releases in the series so I stopped buying them.
     
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  11. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    I like this series if I can get them fresh, and there’s the problem, distributors and retailers as an example won’t buy Luponic #9 until all the #8 is gone. It’s not a high turn beer here, so when the latest batch is available it’s 4 months old. I have a phobia about ipas over 2 months old, and I rarely buy them over 30 days. The local stuff is under 15 at better beer stores.
     
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  12. wasatchback

    wasatchback Maven (1,460) Jan 12, 2014 Tajikistan
    Trader

    When these beers are even remotely fresh (I think FW hoppy beers have better shelf life than most) I’ve been really impressed with all of them. I’ve had maybe 2/3 of them over the years. I think they accomplish what they set out to do with these. They’ll have had distinct flavor and aroma profiles that are very unique. I’m just a homebrewer but have two freezers full of hops and I’ve used almost everything from all over the world and the hop blend they use always seem to create these profiles I haven’t had before. Big fan of these beers. For the price and ABV I think they’re some of the best readily available hoppy beers you can buy at your local store.
     
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