Things have been pretty busy around here the last few weeks, between our kids’ activities, our Halloween party, and we are now preparing our kitchen for a renovation. I’m sitting here cleaning our cabinet doors, and decided to have a beer. I wasn’t familiar with this beer or brewery, but this is one of the beers my sister brought me a couple months ago from St. Louis.
Location: Poured from the can into a TEKU pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.
Numbers: 8.6% ABV, 70 IBUs, ~280 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s a bright, pale yellow color and it’s very hazy. It has a big, fluffy, pillowy, bright white head with a bright citrusy aroma with hints of lemon, orange and pineapple.
Taste & Feel: The body is medium to full with a smooth, almost creamy and lightly hop oily feel. Up front it has a tropical fruit sweetness that matches the aromas. The hop bitterness comes in from the tropical flavored hops in the middle. In the finish, there’s a mix of tropical fruits and bitterness with a bit more juicy flavor than bitterness. The aftertaste is a mix of fruit juiciness and bitterness.
Food Pairing: The tropical fruitiness might compliment and mix with something like orange chicken or a lemon and dill seasoned fish. I think this beer might also contrast nicely with something like a salty cheese pizza.
Overall Impression: I really enjoyed this beer and feel like it’s what the New England IPA style is meant to be – cloudy from the hop chill haze with tons of tropical fruit juiciness. I really like that it was hop flavor forward, but it still had a good dose of bitterness. It was a very good beer, especially with the mix of tropical fruit flavors. I think it would be great for a hot day, and ideal for the beach. I will definitely have to get my sister to get me more of this beer before others discover it.
My Rating: 
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