I've already made it clear that I'm a New Belgium Brewery fan. The search for a hoppier beer is always on my mind. Sure, the local brewpub Boundary Bay serves some lovely IPAs with that hop-tastic flavor I crave, but what to do when I'm out of town? Or when I forget to pick up a growler in advance, and I don't want to get stuck sucking down chilled cans of Pabst out of some other guy's cooler? (Not that there's anything wrong with that...)

Well, Colorado's New Belgium Brewery has provided the perfect solution to that quandary in their Ranger IPA. New Belgium says of their Ranger Ale:

Ever met a New Belgium Beer Ranger? They are our beloved folks out in the field. Spanning all 26 of our states from the Pacific to the Atlantic, our Beer Rangers do their best to protect, to pour and to partake. And explore many a beer from many a brewery, they do. The fellows up in the Northwest kept calling for “more hops!”

Weighing in at a completely reasonable 6.5 abv, Ranger IPA provide great big robust hoppy flavor. There's enough hop here to turn us all into jackrabbits, and have extra hop left over. Cascade hops burst directly in my brain's pleasure centers with that big citrus scent, Chinook hops add the floral underpinning of the most gorgeous spring day you've ever lived through with even more citrus, and Simcoe hops give this India Pale Ale the kind of body and substance that hop-lovers can build a whole religion around. Then this gorgeous amber concoction with the moderate creamy head finishes with yet more Cascade hops grapefruit and lemon exploding in your mouth with every single sip.

Did I mention loving hops? Yes? Good. I'd hate to leave you wondering about that. This is a big-tasting, gorgeous beer that you might need to share with your hops-loving friends, just as part of your civic beer-loving duty.

There are some suggested pairings for food to go with the New Belgium Ranger IPA on the New Belgium website, but I'm going to suggest that any darn thing you'd eat on a bright and hoppy summer day, whether we're talking about hot dogs, pasta salad, shish-kabob, or fresh grilled oysters and corn on the cob, this is the beer to go alongside summer.

The one thing I really long to try this with, though, is a appetizer I discovered years ago: halve fresh figs, stuff with mild gorgonzola cheese, wrap 'em in prosciutto and pop 'em under the broiler. Ice down a bathtub full of Ranger IPA and invite all your friends. When you run out of the fussy little fig-and-prosciutto munchies, maybe whip up some guacamole and corn chips. You're just not going to go wrong with this beer and light food.