Firkin from brewery 5-7-16

On nitro at brewpub. Aroma is fairly hop forward with a blend of English and american hops. Light caramel character. Fairly dank and earthy with wood notes but also a lot of citrus and light tropical fruit. Pours a cloudy orange with a moderately thick white head with good retention and lacing. Flavor is slightly sweet and malty with caramel notes and some cracker and light honey but the hops help dry out the finish. High bitterness with moderately high hop flavor. Hops are fairly citrus and tropical fruit forward but with a balanced pine resin and woodsy character in the background. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium low carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall a fairly enjoyable IPA that plays the line between West Coast IPA and English IPA. A little malty for my preferences, but I like the hop profile. I am tired of IPAs that are all tropical fruit without any dank or woodsy notes and this one does a good job of combining them.

12oz bottle courtesy of someone at the tasting pouring up copper with light tan head. The aroma is a bowl full of buttered popcorn with lemon like citrus hop bitterness, some sweet maltiness and a tad of caramel. The taste is similar with a very healthy dose of grapefruit and tangelo citrus hop bitterness to go along with pulses of buttery popcorn coming to the surface from time to time. The hops are pervasive and bitter enough that I really don’t mind the diacetyl. Lots of hops in this one.

A straightforward, wonderfully dry and vibrant IPA, with strong bitterness and peppery character - some citrus sweetness through the middle, but mostly dry, with a touch of toasted grain in the finish - lingering spicy hops - quite nice.