Hop Valley Citrus Mistress. That is a very bright beer, eh? The nose smells like someone expressed an orange peel over it, so I can’t claim false advertising on this beer.
The middle of the beer fades fast and it’s challenging for me to pin it down. There isn’t much malt there, to be certain. This IPA is doing the IPA thing not the malt thing though: the next flavor up is grapefruit, and then the effervescence rumbles over to try and sweep it all away.
It doesn’t quite get there: the finish on this has got that grapefruit bitter quality. I’m not really on board for that. I think I could be, if this beer had some more body, something in the middle to tie the front and back together but as it stands it’s just a little heavy on the finish.
I don’t dislike it, though. On a hotter day, I might even be grateful for it. I suppose ‘cautiously recommended’ would be a good phrase. Solid, but I’m not going to convince my Mom to try it.
A pint for Dionysus 