Celis IPA

From Texas comes a beer. A beer I know nothing about. From a brewery I didn't even bother to Google. It says clearly that it's an IPA, so I know which glass I'm going to use, but aside from that, I have very few expectations. The fact that my brother went through the effort of packaging this up and sending it to me implies that it is a good beer, and good beer is what this world needs right now. 

The orange beverage emits a reasonable head that is a lot less sticky than IPAs I've had of late. As a result, I'm not going to be getting any lacing. Eventually, the thin cap completely covers the beer with a mix of large and small bubbles. The aroma is very juicy citrus. I mean, this is really juicy. If you could only smell this beer, you would swear you had some kind of orange and grapefruit mix in front of you. 

First sip is a good amount of juice, but there is an astringent aftertaste that is very much not at home here. It seems like a dryness settles with fruit rinds and the result is a strange counterpoint to the sweet and smooth fruit that the drink appeared to be at first. This kind of beer is why we don't just sip here, because this wouldn't be getting high marks right now.

Tip-in is moderate carbonation sizzle atop some very nice orange, grapefruit, and papaya. The middle come along with a maintaining of the carbonation as the juices swell and are joined by a grain malt; the beer is solid through here. The finish is where the carbonation cuts off and the dryness settles in before a somewhat prickly trail off.

Bottom Line: A pretty darn solid swig.

3.25/5