Hi-Wire/Nola "Flippy Flop" Imperial IPA

I've had beer from Nola and Hi-Wire before. I've enjoyed both of them, but I found that good breweries don't necessarily work as well together as you might hope. It's always as if they're trying to experiment with things that they didn't think would work for their own label, and this is just a method of splitting the cost of a failure between two different breweries. I hope that's not the case this time. I really like these guys.

There isn't much head to speak of on top of the very opaque, pumpkin orange beer. The little head that exists is reminiscent of fruit pulp in thickness and consistency. The aroma is much more faint than the IPA moniker and giant hop on the front of the can would have made me expect. What there is combines a mellow citrus with a strong tropical fruit; this is going to be different and probably pretty good.

First sip is an odd combination of not enough flavor and the wrong flavor. It's bitey and scratchy in some aspects, but it's watery in others. The hops are bitter and a bit violent in their presentation, and floral comes up front with the citrus rind and tropical pits. The flavors are not symphonic, and this isn't what I expected or wanted.

Tip-in is carbonation sizzle with grapefruit, starfruit, mango, and citric acid. The middle swings by to drop off a little smooth fruit juice in the form of the previous fruits with an added orange and pineapple. The finish is where the bitterness lies in wait for unsuspecting travelers. It pounces and attacks the tastebuds with flowers before rushing off into the trail-off.

Bottom Line: Drink it quickly or not at all.

2.25/5