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This is the last of the bunch, and I have saved what I expected to be the best for last. I had a surge of love for DIPAs, but the call of the pure hops of an IPA is like a siren song for me. And let's not forget the porters. I've enjoyed many a night draining a solid porter from my glass and enjoying the company of friends and family. Ooo! And the stouts! Oh the time I spent enjoying a milk stout or all those Irish stouts. Wait - DIPAs. I'm looking at a DIPA!
The beer is a delightful gold with a slightly off-white head of small bubbles that stick around for a good long while. Oh my heavens, does this smell good. The hops are bright and up-front with a nice, thick malt behind them. The citrus and pine hops are slapped together like the most Dagwood of sandwiches, and it is working. It smells like a good, small brewery. It reminds me of when I was at 7 Clans Brewing in Asheville. It smells just like that place (I haven't reviewed any of their beers).
First sip is a bit of a downturn. It's still tasting pretty good, but the sticky pine is sticking to the outside of the citrus, and that is not letting the citrus shine. The malt is honey, and the result is an even stickier taste that is antithetical to the slippery nature of the citrus hops. The mix is certainly bold, but it's not clean - nor is it crisp. Let's see if we can tease this out.
Tip-in is a lot more gentle than the sip was, and the honey and caramel malt just oozes sweetness in front of it while pine sticks to the top. Bruised fruits join with citrus for the middle, but they aren't fighting each other. The finish is a bend into bitter with the pine leading the way to the point that I wonder why the fruit was included at all. The trail off is bitter and pine resin, but it's not harsh.
Bottom Line: Pretty good, but not the home run I wanted.
2.5/5
