The beer looks a lot like something from a can with Bearded Iris on the label - all thick, implacable fruit juice with a full head that replicates pulp with its froth. The aroma is a bit more gentile than the beer from that Nashville brewer, and it has soft bread malt with a haze of citrus lingering around it. Presentation is excellent.First sip is a bit tart and bitter with grapefruit, orange, mandarin orange, tangerine, and plums over the bread malt that is really way in the back, standing against the wall, looking at the door like it may be time to leave at any point, and he definitely wants to beat the rush. So, I'm not sure I would sip this beer for very long. In fact, I know I won't.
Tip-in is tartness with a carbonation sizzle while orange and tangerine merge with some peaches. The middle flows into an unexpected pine that sails atop the fruits and the bread malt as the base. The finish is tartness as the grapefruit swells before bitterness and tartness wrestle for the trail-off.
Bottom Line: There are better NE IPAs out there, but this is the one I'm drinking tonight.
2.25/5
