Braxton Revamp IPA

It's the first time I have had a beer from this little Kentucky brewer. I drink a lot of different brands of beer, so this really isn't all that noteworthy, but it's noteworthy for me in that I like to find out what each new brewmaster thinks about what makes a good beer. Indeed, will this even be good beer?

The wonderfully cloudy copper beer has a somewhat off-white head that sticks around like an IPA head should. It's sticking to the sides with a fierce gusto that lets me know that lacing is certainly on the menu tonight. The aroma is a lot more muted than I would have expected, but the pine and citrus dance together serenely. Quite inviting.

First sip is sweet and bitter up front with a dusty coat of pine bitter bringing up the rear. This is pretty clearly not a sipping beer. It has too much bitterness and not enough taste to balance it out, so the mouth winds up all cattywampus with a feeling that the mouth is tipping forward where the sweetness is barely helping things out.

Tip-in is bread malt sweetness with pine spines sticking out. The middle is citrus and floral more than anything. The bitterness is right along the edges of the mouth, but they aren't closing in as the draught is pulled. When the finish comes, the taste changes to a honey-swirled nutty pine with a layer of dust on top. Then, the trail off goes all wrong with harsh floral and pine bitterness that is uninvited and unnecessary.

Bottom Line: Um... no. Not today. Maybe the next try will be better.

1.0/5