Crooked Stave Hop Savant "Amarillo" Brettanomyces IPA

Second in my series of five beers featuring different hops, and I really can't describe how excited I am to try all of these. While the Falconer's Flight was a bit... challenging... it was still a good experience and a perfectly acceptable beer. I move onto the Amarillo hops, which I am somewhat surprised to find out that there is actually a patent on. I don't know why I'm surprised, but here we are.

The cloudy color is virtually identical to the Falconer's Flight's dusty copper-orange. The head is much thicker, and it also leaves lacing on the sides like a champ. The aroma is more brettanomyces yeast - kind of funky and citrus. This one is more funky than the last.

First sip is FAR funkier than the Falconer's. It also seems less citrus than the other one, too. It has orange in it, but it's somewhat more caustic than I had expected.  The beer is very dry, and it is making me thirsty. Maybe a full swig could sort this out...

Tip-in is gentle carbonation burn and the haze of grain and pollen. It's a very calm start to a beer that MUST have some coarseness about it. The middle turns funkier, with a sour mix and the crackers, orange, and tangerine. The finish bites hard with the sourness and the funkiness. That finish is quite off-putting, but the rest of the beer kind of makes up for it.

Bottom Line: I'm starting to think that the yeast, and not the hops, are driving these beers.

2.25/5