Fat Orange Cat "Do the Escalator to the 13th Floor" Double IPA

This is one of the few cats that doesn't result in a severe allergic reaction. What does it lead to? Well, their average beer has been pretty... average. These guys have skewed slightly high, but it's not a whole lot to brag about. They seem to charge a lot more than others in their sector, but their beer really doesn't seem to justify the price. Maybe this will break the mold.

The mostly hazy, amber beer has about a perfect head that doesn't boil up too much, but it lets you know this is carbonated and also sticks around a little while. If it left lacing, it would be perfect, but it doesn't, so it's only almost there. The aroma is wet dough, spices, and light, effervescent citrus. It's inviting.

First sip is orange-tangerine-grapefruit up front with fruit rind and grain husks at the back end. This unbalanced sip is overly aggressive, but it's certainly not terrible. It just doesn't know what it wants to do when it grows up, so it's just going to rage against the world until it gets old enough that it is forced to make some choices in life.

Tip-in is dry and filled with carbonation sparkles while the orange-tangerine-grapefruit mix lies on a bed of soft grains. The middle erupts into silence; the aggressive start is now a gentle wave of fruit meat and fibrous citrus tissue. The finish is dry, echoing the tip-in, but the grains rise to meet the fruit rind before citrus trails off.

Bottom Line: It's only unbalanced in a sip - gulp it, and it settles right in.

3.75/5