Tröegs Independent Brewing Crimson Pistil

Crimson Pistil

 

Tröegs Independent Brewing in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States 🇺🇸

  IPA - Flavoured Special
Score
6.43
ABV: 6.2% IBU: 52 Ticks: 15
Hibiscus IPA

It’s almost summertime. Hop bines are growing up to 6 inches a day. Hibiscus is in full bloom. And in Crimson Pistil, the two get in a glorious tangle of berry-like tanginess, sunset technicolor and sticky tropical notes.

We taste: passionfruit, tart berry, grapefruit zest, summer meadow

Malt: Pilsner, Vienna
Hops: Azacca, Nugget, Vic Secret
Yeast: House Ale
 

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7/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Reviewed from notes.
Appearance: maroon color with a one finger white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: caramel/toffee malts mesh with some floral character and flanked by soms citrusy hops
Flavor: meshes the prior noted aromas to a fine sweet to semi-bitter quality; finishes floral and citrusy
Texture: light to medium bodied, sessionable, some smoothness but also some hop astringency to the tongue
Overall: not a bad red IPA, I could come back to this.
Tried from Bottle on 20 Feb 2026 at 11:26

9/10
Tried from Draft on 13 Dec 2024 at 18:47

6.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle from a mix pack. Poured an amber color with a medium sized white head. Aroma was not too floral, but it's there. Toasted notes, light floral hop character. Easy to drink.
Tried from Bottle on 10 Aug 2018 at 05:15

5.9/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 4 Overall 6.5
Draft at the Big Hunt 5-26-17
Tried from Draft on 16 Oct 2017 at 19:37

4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 4 Flavor 3 Texture 4 Overall 4
Can, a little darker than pale and a little hazy in my Leibinger stang. Taste is not as bitter as expected and its a little sweet, one step above dry. Smell is undetectable on such a big foamy head. Yes, IPA? Not sure, but I guess you can call it that. Cost me 5$? WTF? Rip off. I should have bought an OBD II form harbor freight instead. Not impressed, just another light hearted ubiquitous IPA with a mild weird flowery sweetness. Go figger.
Tried from Can on 04 Sep 2017 at 12:31

5.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 5 Texture 4 Overall 5.5
Pours a rosé from a bottle, some off-white lacing. Floral aroma, followed by some papaya, and even a little off-putting pine. Similar flavor, somewhat dry finish. Okay beer.
Tried from Bottle on 11 Aug 2017 at 21:41

5.9/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 5.5
12 ounce bottle. Hazy amber, large foamy white head, good retention. Aroma of hibiscus, toffee, a bit of pine. The taste is hibiscus, raisin, pine, berries, toffee. Medium bodied. Over-flowered.
Tried from Bottle on 11 Aug 2017 at 20:27

6.4/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Pomegranate nose. Cloudy rust, thin. Pomegranate, violets. Hints of honeysuckle in the finish. Medium body, easy carbonation. Well made and unique, but not a flavor combination that appeals to me.
Tried on 13 Jul 2017 at 18:36

6.6/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 4 Overall 6.5
Absolutely beautiful coloured body of a bright red glow with some pink tints and a smooth, two centimetre tall off-white head, but the colour of the body is amazing. Aroma of flowers, grass, light hops, a touch of earth and some very smooth crisp herbal elmements near the end with no perceived alcohol in the nose. Medium-bodied; Assertive floral and grassy flavours at first with a big dose of malt and a bitter component of a hop and herbal bite along with some very dry earthiness near the end. Aftertaste shows some lighter malts, a touch of grass, flowers of course and a dose of funk near the end. Overall, a nice and beautiful beer with a bit less than the typical IPA flavours, but shows nice enough, a tad funky, somewhat herbal, very dry and a smooth complexity throughout make this interesting and the only real reason to purchase this or go out of your way for it, would be the sheer colour of the beer. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Whole Foods in Pentagon City (Arlington), Virginia on 26-May-2017 for US$2,49 sampled at home in Washington about a month later on 23-June-2017 in front of the store at the end of my driveway.
Tried from Bottle on 24 Jun 2017 at 01:27

7.4/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Can best before 8/16/17, drunk 5/18/17.
Quite hibiscus-heavy appearance with softer rose and golden hues. Clear, with a pink-tinged, off-white head showing moderate retention.
A good mix of fruity, mildly juicy hops that show no resin or heavy pine with the earthy, leathery, spicy character of hibiscus. It works well, balancing each other nice and the malts keep pace, adding light graham cracker and bits of honey to keep things soft.
Spicy in the mouth with herbal, lightly earthy hibiscus folding in to the hop character to create a good mix of both tangerine, red berry and juicy fruits that is actually quite refreshingly unique for an IPA. Soft, well-attenuated malts provide a supple texture and moderately-tight carbonation keeps the beer crisp on the finish and drinkable. Even a bit of tartness on the finish. It’s definitely got a good deal of hibiscus in it, though it integrates so nicely with the hops notes that it doesn’t feel overdone, to me at least. Not usually a fan of adjunct IPAs, but I thought this one worked well.
Tried from Can on 13 Jun 2017 at 15:30