I don't know about you, but I am doing a happy dance that there are only two days left in this god-forsaken year. You are probably sick of me bitching about it, but hey, I just caught a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. 2015, I'm looking at you, and you are one sexy bitch. My mood is so sullen about this entire fucking year that I think something as bitter as an IPA would be perfect. The fact that we picked this up on our last trip to Peoria during my father's memorial service trip makes it an even better send-off to the suckfest that was 2014. With the new year will come a renewed attitude, I promise as solemnly as a goddamn Girl Scout.
Cheers to the last two days of 2014! Now, onto the beer.
This pours a lovely orange color with about the same amount of white head that is pictured. The aroma on this is a fresh blast of pine and grapefruit with just a hint of caramel sweetness. The flavor is about the same, along with some other tropical fruit flavors in the middle to mellow it out and woo the tastebuds, then the finish on this... oh, the finish on this. Dry, lovely, biting pine and grapefruit predominate the end of this and it's a wonderfully bitter finish. It is a medium-bodied beer and with 68 IBUs and 6.8% ABV, I'm very happy with this. If we could get this in Ohio, it might become part of my regular rotation of beers.
Ah, my mood is already lifting as that light at the end of the tunnel becomes more of a gleam. Do you remember the Keystone beer gimmick advertising "bitter beer face"? This will probably give you that, but in a good way. My cheeks are a tad puckered from the finish on this, and now they are puckered from smiling while drinking this. I never minded bitter beer face anyway, although I most certainly mind Keystone beer. It's revolting. This is pretty much the opposite of that. Yeah... hoppy, happy bitter beer face.
4.6/5 caps
-Jennie
We needed to round out this year with something that leaves at least one good note. We've eyeballed this every time we've seen it, and always failed to pick it up. We'd later see constant postings on Facebook about how much people are enjoying it, giving us buyer's remorse. Well, not this time, 2014. You've sucked enough out of our lives. The time has come to get this 6.8% ABV, 68 IBU long awaited IPA on my palate.
The label makes me think of Reservoir Dogs. Brilliant movie. The beer itself is a golden amber color, still with a decent amount of carbonation after sitting for roughly an hour. The aroma on this is therapeutic. pine, grapefruit, citrus and caramel; none of which overwhelm the others, just gel perfectly together in a harmonious coexistence that could likely solve all the wars and hatred among humans (if only somehow we could all sniff this at the same time). I talk about this calming that washes over me as it was needed today at work (where Slipknot and Mushroomhead weren't heavy and loud enough to deal with the end of the year in shipping... note- if you've read this far- AVOID FACTORY JOBS). Regardless.... Beer.
The flavor on this is what's in the nose. A nice harmonious balance of grapefruit, pine, citrus and caramel with an additional tropical juiciness toward the middle before a rush of headbanging to "Duality" by Slipknot and bitterness washes over the tastebuds. Well... Maybe you won't be headbanging to "Duality" (maybe you're more of a "People = Shit" person), but when the bitterness comes crashing into the party- it definitely starts a most pit on your tongue, leaving a dry yet resinous finish after slam dancing for a solid 15 seconds. This is what I expect the finish of an IPA to be. Before I start rocking out too much and forget that I'm typing a beer review, I should finish (HA! That's what she said).
4.6/5 caps
-Nathan-
Food pairing: A well-smoked pork shoulder
Cheese pairing: Cotswold (Double Gloucester with dried onions and chives)
Music pairing: Wallflowers "One Headlight" (despite the moshing and metal references)
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