Runner's High Life: Spice of Life, Chinook

Though Mikkeller may have been the first to the punch with a series of single-hop ales, the Spice of Life lineup just underway from Sixpoint Craft Ales is also out to prove the concept of using a single type of hop is far from a one-note experience. I for one love a beer full of fireworks. Put it in a whiskey or brandy barrel for eight months. Throw in some odd ingredients more appropriate for marinating tuna or spicing Christmas cookies. You can even toss it in an old boot and add a wild yeast that leaves the concoction tasting like it's been run through a horse blanket. I'll drink it. But sometimes, there's nothing better than a well crafted beer that doesn't look to wow you beyond the perfection of its simplicity. The Spice of Life, Chinook fits that bill, especially if you've never tasted the Chinook hop, and -- let's face it -- you never have, as all other ales you've had brewed with it were muddled with every other Tom, Dick and Harry of hops. So get it while you can clean. And like many runners will tell you, less is more, or <=>.