Bearded Iris Red Handed Double IPA

Bearded Iris is a local Nashville brewery who has really impressed me. All their beers are thick and murky like juice, but they have an undeniable delicious uniqueness about them that sets them apart from the others. Mind you, they haven't been as good as, for example, Lagunitas, but they have been entertaining to say the least.

This one looks very similar to the others from the same stable - a thick, cloudy, juice-like appearance with a white top. The head boils away to a very thin layer on top with that ring around the rim that pretty much every beer gets (assuming it has ANY head at all). The aroma is tropical fruit, pine, and light crusty bread.

First sip is very strong. It's harsh in the way it treats the tongue and mouth with a strong, acidic juice and a scrape of the pine across the tongue. It's still citrus and tropical fruits, but this kind of jab with acid is definitely ruling this out for just sipping. Maybe gulping is the key.

Tip-in is hard carbonation burn with fruits and that very crusty bread. The middle is where the rubber meets the road in these beers, and this one is citrus trying desperately (and failing) to overcome the carbonation burn and acid that are definitely leading the way. The finish is the tart and funky stuff that was left at the bottom of the barrel of citrus fruits after being shipped (slowly) from the equator.

Bottom Line: Everyone has a mulligan. This is Bearded Iris'.

1.5/5