875. Wicked Weed – Napoleon Complex Hoppy Pale Ale

It’s been a busy few weeks both at work and at home, so more evenings I have been enjoying bourbon rather than craft beer lately. However, I’ve got a few IPAs in the beer fridge that need to be sampled before the hops fade too much. Speaking of bourbon, this was given to me by my friend Joe when we met up in Kentucky and did the Bourbon Trail back in June. So, the good news is this Wicked Weed beer was likely brewed before ABInBev took them over.

Location: Poured into a TEKU pint glass from the can at my home in Bloomington, IL.

Numbers: 5.2% ABV,  1.047 OG, ~150 Calories

Ingredients: Hops: Cascade, Chinook, El Dorado, Warrior; Dry hops: Amarillo, Chinook, El Dorado, Simcoe; Yeast: California Ale Yeast

Appearance & Aroma: It’s bright yellow in color, and slightly hazy with a big, pillowy white head. It has a nice, bright, citrusy-floral aroma with a bit of piney resinous hoppiness.

Taste & Feel: The body is light and the mouthfeel is smooth with some creaminess and hoppy oiliness. The flavor up front is a light, bright floral-pine hoppiness, which smoothly transitions into a light citrusy juicy flavor in the middle. The finish is a nice piney resinous hop flavor with some floral-grassy notes, which lasts in the aftertaste for a minute or so.

Food Pairing: The hop flavors were mostly floral, grassy and piney, which would mix perfectly with something spicy like wings, or something cheesey, like a pizza or cheeseburger.

Overall Impression: This beer has a lot of great hop flavor, without a lot of bitterness. I really enjoyed the mix of hop flavors, since they bright and refreshing, yet still really complex. Despite all of the hop flavor, it still felt like a pretty light pale ale. Overall, I thought this was a great beer, and hope to grab more next time I’m in the south.

My Rating: