Carolina American Style IPA

This claims to be "first in flavor." It is a bold claim. I have had many different beers in my time, and many of them were really flavorful and good. So, maybe they were only comparing themselves to other brewers in the Chapel Hill area. Maybe they were comparing themselves to every maker of food or drink ever. There's no way to really know.

The gold-amber beer was pretty reluctant to reveal any kind of head, but we got there in the end. The head that we get as a result is still pretty thin, but it's a nice kind of dusty off-white with patches of big bubbles surrounded by a sea of small ones. The aroma is as reluctant to come out as the head was, but it's light citrus with a doughy bread malt.

First sip is stronger than the smell, but it's still not overpowering in the least. It's a laid-back kind of all-day IPA, if I were to name it. The malt is heavy on the back-end, and the citrus is in the front, but it's not all up in my face. The bitterness isn't too bad, but it's definitely unbalanced for the lack of real hoppiness that I was expecting and wanted.

Tip-in is sweet malt of the doughy variety. It then slips into harsh citric acid and carbonation as the oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit gnaw at the corners of the mouth with their meat taking up the center. Then, the finish is a wave of muted bitterness with grains.

Bottom Line: Not a lot to complain about, but also not a lot to remember.

2.5/5