Well, the
local boys are at it again. This time, they're going first-rate
IPA, and I couldn't be happier that they decided to go this route. Anyone who has read a reasonable number of my reviews will know that I really enjoy a good IPA. And this, being so close to the source, has a fantastic chance of being an absolutely tremendous beverage. I fear I'm getting my hopes up too high, but that's what happens whenever you drink beer sometimes.
The beer is a mostly clear copper color with a sticky, off-white head that leaves quite a bit of lacing and a patchy bunch of islands of foam across the top of the beer that reminds me of the Aleutians. I was afraid at first, as I could've sworn that I smelled a little bit of skunk to the beer whenever I first opened it. It turns out, I must have been mistaken. Instead, the beer smells heavily spiced with citrus and pine leading the charge. The spices are dark and foreboding, but I'm not going to let that stop me.
First sip doesn't have nearly the spices that I thought it had. Instead, it has sedate tropical and citrus fruits with a little bit of pine on the back end and a bread malt. Normally, I would expect a beer with a
7.6% ABV to be hammering my taste buds with hops galore, but this is more of a gentle caress. It's impressive to have a beer that is flavorful and also relaxed.
Tip-in is moderate carbonation burn atop apricots, coriander, grapefruit, lemons, and the bread malt (or is that a sticky yeast?) making a play for the spotlight early. The middle shoves the fruit up to the top while the yeast rides on top of a heavier grain and the carbonation doesn't seem to let up very much. The finish is a wave of tart and bitter that rises quickly into just plain bitter before trailing off into a yeasty haze of mild bitterness.
Bottom Line: Better sipped than swigged.
2.5/5
