I forgot to get a picture of this beer! Which is unfortunate…but we’ll all make it through.
The nose is earthy and sweet; has a dank quality to it, without getting stinky. It lasts, too; like a good IPA, the gift keeps on giving, even 2/3rds through the beer.
The finish really threatens to overwhelm the RPM; it’s very sharp and intense, and those first few sips threaten to derail the beer into one of those mouth scouring ales. Drinking in sips helps, because I can roll it around and get some of the malt sweetness that my nose detected. It isn’t much, and not long after the finishing bitterness hulks out and takes over.
It’s just enough though to keep the beer from being a hop bomb and exclusively for IPA zealots. Don’t get me wrong-it’s still a beer that has a third rail of hops running through it-it isn’t balanced and if you don’t wanna touch that third rail of bitterness ever, then this is not for you.
But it’s balanced juuuuust enough to keep it drinkable and, I think, can even be paired with some food to help provide some contrast to a good meal.
