Beer review: You just might just fall in love with Stacy's Mom (the Citra IPA)
Stacy's Mom Citra IPA, Evil Genius Beer Co., Philadelphia
Details: $11.99 for a six-pack of 12-ounce cans. Available at various locations, including Savor Growl in Clintonville, Ernie's Carry Out in Grove City, AmeriStop in Reynoldsburg and CVS in Hilliard)
Notes: 7.5% alcohol by volume. Pours a cloudy, rich golden color with an ample, fluffy white head.
Thoughts: Evil Genius Beer Co., founded in 2011 by Villanova grad school classmates Luke Bowen and Trevor Hayward, prides itself on its “very silly names for very serious beers.”
And, as you will see by the accompanying list, they do get into some inspired names, which are hatched via a group chat in which Evil Genius employees submit candidates and then vote on them.
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Many names riff on pop culture and lines from movies and songs, and a full list is cleverly displayed on the brewery's website in the form of the opening text in "Star Wars" movies — when you scroll down the list, the names fade off into the distance.
The brewery began distributing in Ohio this month, specifically in the Greater Columbus and Cleveland areas. (Also included in the Ohio rollout: Purple Monkey Dishwasher, a Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter; There’s No Crying In Baseball, a Hazy Mango IPA; and #Adulting, a Guava IPA.)
Which brings us to Stacy's Mom. And you're all cursing me because that song is now playing on an endless loop in your head.
But who can forget the hit by Fountains of Wayne (saved you from Googling it) — released on this day in 2003 — about the prepubescent boy who lusted after his classmate's mother?
It's a certifiable earworm that was co-written by Fountain of Wayne's late bassist, Adam Schlesinger, who died of complications from COVID-19 in 2020. He once said in an interview with SongFacts that the tune was inspired in part by "one of my (childhood) friends told me that he thought my grandmother was really hot, that added a little bit to the song. That's a true story. And my grandmother was pretty hot."
Hmmm.
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At this juncture you might be thinking, Hey, I thought I was supposed to be reading a beer review, not a digression into a Fountains of Wayne song that was popular 19 years ago.
That would be a fair point. So, on to the beer.
In addition to silly names, Evil Genius does make some serious beer — at least as far as Stacy's Mom is concerned.
It's dry-hopped with only Citra hops, which makes it citrusy. The brewer's note on the can's label that if you figure that part out (Citra hops = citrusy flavor) "you're very smart." Think they're being sarcastic? I like to think I'm smart.
Anyhoo, what I liked is that Stacy's Mom isn't a bitter bomb — sometimes fruit/citrus IPAs have a bitter backbite, but that's not the case here.
This beer is very well-balanced (medium-bodied) without a strong flavor profile one way or the other — which makes it great drinker no matter your mood. And it has some gumption at 7.5% ABV.
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So, I've made it the entire way without a cheesy reference to the song lyrics, so I will fail as I show myself out: Stacy's Mom Citra IPA has got it goin' on.
Ooof. Sorry.
— Patrick Holbrook, Dispatch beer reviewer
pholbrook@gannett.com
What's in name? Plenty
A sample 12-pack of beer names from Evil Genius Beer Co.:
• We've Been Trying to Reach You About Your Car's Extended Warranty — Belgian table beer
• Ermahgerd Sur Purch Kurds — Sour Patch Kids sour
• Gwyneth Paltrow's Head Was In the Box — Blood orange IPA
• I Don't Know Who Needs to Hear This But Cancel That Free Trial Before They Charge Your Card — Black tea and lemon blonde ale
• Good Morning to Everyone Except Grandpa Joe, Who Sat In a Bed for 20 Years and Let His Family Wallow in Poverty But Hopped Up Like a Jackass to Go to a Damn Candy Factory — Pale Saison with peaches, aged in oak barrels
• Me Think, Why Waste Time Say Lot Word, When Few Word Do Trick — Key lime pie sour ale
• Felt Cute, Might Feed My Husband to a Tiger Later IDK — Pale ale
• So You're Telling Me There's a Chance — Irish coffee cream ale
• Hugh Jass — Double IPA
• It's Raining Cats and Dogs? False! Precipitation Consists Almost Entirely of Water — Unfiltered lager
• Jack Could Have Easily Fit on That Raft, Rose — Hibiscus & honey saison
• You're Killin' Me, Smalls! — Raspberry shandy
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Playfully named Stacy's Mom Citra IPA is seriously good
