Beer

Aroma Coma IPA Returns in 16oz. Cans

Back and better than ever, Aroma Coma IPA has just been released. It’s available in 4-packs of 16oz. cans at its original ABV, a crushable 6.75% (perfect for cans!), and the hops have gotten a rather stern update. Complementing the Citra in this batch are Simcoe hops, potentially our favorite hop here at Drake’s, and Sultana (Denali), an off-the-radar hop that underpins the heavy hitters with dank, resinous aromas and fleshy citrus notes. It’s just a fantastic batch and I couldn’t be more stoked to shotgun some cans!

Aroma Coma IPA can be purchased now at all Drake’s locations and is currently being shipped to our distributor partners. It is a limited release in California. Check out our beer finder in the coming days and weeks to see if Aroma Coma IPA is available near you.

Back Story: Aroma Coma IPA

While this batch is at its original ABV, we did not revert to the original recipe. That’s because there’s no such thing as an “original recipe” for Aroma Coma. A single batch of coma was first released in 2009 on draught. Unfortunately, it wasn’t called Aroma Coma when it was brewed. They clearly came up with the name somewhere later in the creative process. One day I’ll write a blog post about how hard it is to name a beer! I don’t really know much about the first recipe, or what we’ll call the beta-test.

Aroma Coma then went into actual production in 2011 and was released in kegs and 22oz. bottles (remember those?). Coma started its run as a light-amber IPA with just a touch of rye and pale caramel malt. It was hopped at aggressive rates for those days, with Citra, Chinook and Cascade hops.

Since the beer was an annual release, we took liberties with the recipe every year, particularly on the hop side of the equation. The rye and light caramel malts were constants, though we did slowly increase the amount of rye. We stopped using CTZ hops after 2012, and chose to blend in other hops we liked, particularly Amarillo and El Dorado. Citra has been a constant presence. That was Aroma Coma through 2015, a rye IPA that we released every summer with a constantly tweaked hop bill. 

In 2016, we made a decision to go year-round with this beer and started putting it into 6-packs. We kept playing with the hops (little tweaks) based on our perception of the quality of a particular crop. While we value consistency in beer, we have a particular dedication to just putting our “best” hops in coma as long as they play well with Citra!

We made the decision to up the ABV in Aroma Coma to 8% in late 2017. We felt like it didn’t make sense to have it so close to Best Coast IPA. The recipe didn’t actually change that much. We added a bit more base malt and increased the hopping rate to keep up with the ABV.

And that’s the story until early 2020, when it dropped out of production. Apparently, COVID meant everyone wanted to drink Denog, so that became our focus. Pandemic brewing! But we all missed Aroma Coma here at the brewery, and since WE wanted to drink it, you get to come along for the ride with us. Hope you all are hepped up as we are!

I always hear this song when I say “Aroma Coma” – John Gillooly