8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

2021 Edition: Fairly hazy golden coloured body with a nice two centimetre tall off-white head that fades slowly over top of the 60 per cent opaque copper glowing body. Aroma of super pungent spruce, pine, flowers, grapefruit zest and a lot of hey notes with some malts here as well in addition to some alcohol and yeast with bread as well, but the hops and would-be bitterness seem very strong. Medium-bodied; Rich bitter grapefruit, resin, pine and spruce notes dominate here with a ton of bitterness from the alpha acids with a lot of perfumey notes as well and a dash of flowers towards the end with some supportive malts and a good kick of alcohol at the end that perhaps shows more than the 6,4 per cent listed. Aftertaste shows a lot of grapefruity and piney notes with a ton of bitterness from the alpha acids with a bunch of malts supporting all the hops, but there is no real sweetness, but that's expected or even desired with the bitterness this high. Overall, a very nice real West Coast IPA that doesn't buck to new styles or new school fads - this is old school, bitter and rich with a lot of pungency - exactly what I want in an IPA and a nice first beer in Canada this time. I sampled this 650 mL bottle, purchased a few minutes ago from St. Regis Fine Wines & Spirits in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 29-June-2022 for CA$10,50 sampled in my hotel room here in central Vancouver, BC, Canada while here with my family for the first time since before March 2020!