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TGIF! Yesterday was the last day of school for the kids, and there were a lot of people out at work today. So, it was a fairly laid back day today. I relaxed on the deck after work and had a few homebrews. Then I decided to crack open this beer. My friend Fred brought it over when we had a murder mystery party a few weeks ago. I’ve learned my lesson with IPAs and wanted to drink this while it was still as fresh as possible. It says it was bottled in February.
Location: Poured into a goblet style pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.
Numbers: 8.2% ABV, 73 IBUs, ~240 Calories
Ingredients: Malts: Great Western premium two-row, crystal 15 and Dextra-pils; Hops: Chinook, Citra and Amarillo.
Appearance & Aroma: It’s golden yellow in color and extremely clear. It had a big fluffy white head that had decent retention and great lacing. The aroma is a bright citrusy hoppiness.
Taste & Feel: The body is medium and the mouthfeel is smooth with a light creaminess and oiliness. The flavor up front is lightly grainy with an earthy-citrusy hop flavor. The hops are quite juicy in the middle, an the citrusiness really opens up in the finish. It has a mix of hop flavor and bitterness and is quite citrusy. The citrusy bitterness lasts for a couple minutes in the aftertaste.
Food Pairing: With such a citrusy hop flavor, I think I’d pair this with something like a pork chop to knock it down and contrast it a bit, or a cheese pizza for a complementary flavor.
Overall Impression: This beer definitely showcases the citrusy hop flavors and bitterness. I enjoyed the hop juiciness in the middle, followed by the citrusiness in the finish. I also appreciated the little bit of grainy maltiness up front to balance the big hop flavors a bit. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good IPA, but it wasn’t necessarily one that had a characteristics which stood out from the pack much.
My Rating: 
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