Bearded Iris "Mood Ring" Double IPA

The Bearded Iris lovefest continues. Yes, I may be drinking too many beers from these guys, but I haven't really had all that much in the last year or so. I'm not sure what kind of mood ring I'm supposed to be expecting for this beer, but I don't want it to be changing colors. Although, it would be kind of cool to have a beer that changed colors based on the mood of the person who was drinking it.

The very hazy beer is a shade of orange that fades to yellow as the beer gets thinner toward the bottom of the glass. The beer produces a respectable enough head, but it is certainly not excessive. The tiny little white bubbles coalesce around the outside of the glass with a shadow of bubbles spread across the center; I'm not going to get any lacing. The aroma is one spicy meatball. The pineapple and mango are right up front, and the acid from the citrus seems to be mixing together to give it a slightly skunked aroma.

First sip is juicy and surprisingly smooth. I'm not sure I can really tell the difference between guava and pink guava when it comes to drinking a beer, but it seems like it's giving it a slightly sweeter taste than I would normally find with just the pineapple and mango. Mind you, I am only assuming this uses a similar malt to ones that I've had from these guys before. The feeling in the nose is still that of effervescent hops, but that's the only tell that this isn't just a delicious fruit beverage.

Tip-in is pineapple and mango with sweetness and carbonation sizzle. The middle is awash with carbonation as the guava joins the fruit mix and things remain just as sweet as they were at the beginning, but this isn't the overreach that it sounds like. The finish is a tartness that is immediately washed away by fruits with a haze of bitterness around them before the trail off is just an echo.

Bottom Line: Zounds.

4.75/5