Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA
Pours the color of sunshine. Yellow gold. If it weren’t for the particles in suspension to offer haze, you would need sunglasses to look at this bright beer. Fat white head of foam that fell slowly and left great lace.
Nose is decadent with hops. Fruity hops run the gamut from citrus and citric tartness to mango and stone fruit softness and depth, to a graceful pineapple that screams hops,with a touch of twang. There’s the brightness of citrus zest and this yeast is the funkiest of the entire box of Belgians. Dry earthy yeast. mango, pineapple with it’s bit of acidic tang, and mango with it deep stone fruit soft sweetness. A floral like flower petals.
Now let’s have some…
Taste is IPA all the way. Light body. No slickness no heaviness. The malt is crisp dry wheat that offers a bit of sour and a refreshing middle. It almost puckers but not quite. Delightful! The fruit is stellar. With so many fruits to create the idea of complexity, until you drink it and realize that without the characteristic IPA bitter this was fruit punch. Light wheat cracker malt brings you a crisp dry floral with a bushel of fruits that do not realize their intense sweetness because on their heels is an IPA bitter. It swoops in like a predator and takes the finish but you are satisfied.
Craker-y, crisp wheat with a touch of natural sweetness, dry and crisp from carbonation. Beautiful. Congratulations Ithaca. The bit of funk did this beer good and I enjoyed it immensely. It’s as though the sun came out today and I put it in my glass.
Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”
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Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.