Fiddlehead Brewing Co.’s Second Fiddle

I’m going to get this out of the way right from the start: this American Imperial IPA plays second fiddle to no beer. I tried to take a wonderful

picture of the can with a trophy to emphasize this, but alas, I am no photographer and without a stock of props to make my artistic beer visions come to life, my girlfriend’s high school tennis trophy had to do.

I recently came across this beer on a road trip through the state of Vermont, where we made a stop at Fiddlehead Brewing Company, located just south of Burlington in Shelburne. We were told that because of the brewery’s license they cannot serve anything more than tasters, but they could sell cans and growlers. We grabbed some cans and went next door to Folino’s Pizza, poured our beers into chilled glasses readily available from a stocked fridge on the restaurant floor, and sat down for some pretty good wood-fired pizza.

I feel as though I’ve laid the scene, so I’m going to move on to the beer! I picked up a 4-pack of their Second Fiddle, a punchy double IPA that pours a dark yellow-orange with a medium to heavy, foamy head. The aroma is heavy with citrus and some juicy, fruity notes.

At first, it is very smooth and creamy from the malts, which is followed by the bitterness on the back and sides of your tongue. Some people have described it has a New England IPA, but it is definitely not. The beer is slightly piney and a relatively traditional hop bomb, but with complexities that cause it to grow on you from taste to taste. Fiddlehead did extremely well with this one.

Rating: 82

Style: American Imperial IPA