These guys are pretty happy about the fact that they used real fruit juice from fruits that they identify as perfectly good but imperfect looking. That's fine by me. However, generally, a juicy IPA doesn't actually need fruit juice. If you're using the right hops and dealing with them correctly, you can get all the fruit flavor that you need from them. That said, I have also always been a proponent of the brewer adding anything they need for the beer to be complete before it goes into the can and comes to me. As a result, I will not hold it against them that they're using real fruit in this.
First sip isn't bad, but it comes across as a bit caustic. The 6.5% ABV is not excessive for an IPA, so it doesn't seem like it will be coming from that. Orange juice itself, of course, has citric acid in it the could become caustic, but it doesn't seem like the same thing that I've experienced when drinking orange juice. Maybe I'm focusing on that too much, as I have already indicated that the sip isn't bad, and I'm even going to be getting more lacing than I expected.
Tip-in is mild to moderate carbonation sizzle with orange peel and a metallic grapefruit juice joining. The middle sends carbonation to the roof of the mouth to sizzle pretty hard there while the juices flow with that metallic sheen through the center of the mouth. The finish is just more echoes of the same flavors as the carbonation lets go as the juices turn to peels for the trail off.
Bottom Line: Just not as good as it should be.
2.25/5
