Pours a dark orange/copper hue with about 1.5 fingers of light, fluffy, just off white head. Pretty good retention and as it dissipates it leaves patchy lacing that continues down the glass as you drink.
Smell is fruity citrus hops (mostly lemon and some grapefruit) with a small note of pine. There is a strong toasted malt background with maybe a little bit of caramel present as well; this smells like a really balanced and not too hop forward IPA.
The taste starts with strong juicy citrus hop flavours similar to the aroma with a moderate amount of pine and bitterness dominating. This is then followed with a really strong toasted malt backbone with a slight caramel note to it to really balance out the hops. The finish is another round of moderate citrus and pine bitterness that's not overwhelming and doesn't linger as long as one might hope.
It has a medium body and not a ton of carbonation which adds a bit of smoothness rather than the lingering bitter or dry notes sometimes present in IPA's. As stated earlier the bitterness dies out a little quicker than is ideal.
Overall a pretty decent IPA. Really evenly balanced without any one particular overwhelming characteristic. It has pretty decent drinkability as well even with the slightly heavier than normal body and could be a pretty decent session beer. If you're just starting to get into IPA's and don't want to destroy your palate with a hop bomb this would be a good choice to start out with.
Final Grade:
Style:
Appearance: 4/5
Aroma: 4/5
Taste: 4/5
Mouthfeel: 4/5
Drinkability: 4.5/5
Overall: 82/100
Preference: I prefer an IPA that is either quite citrusy and a bit of a hop bomb or a superbly done traditional English style IPA. This offering fell a little in between for me although I can see what they were aiming for and it is by no means a bad beer.
Final grade: 78/100
-The Bear
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