Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA
Pours a beautiful and softly glowing yellow with a slight bit of haze to temper it’s radiance. Has bubbles making their way to the top and a cream colored head of foam that lasted and left sticky creamy lace until it finally succumbed to the 10.1% abv and fell leaving spots and alcohol legs. Truly a handsome beer that in the softer light had some lovely orange hues.
Nose is mango. Not peach. Ripe earthy and sweet. Some pineapple to give it a little sugary backing and some tanginess. Lovely floral hops accentuate all the fruit. The malt is soft as it could possibly be on the nose. A soft sweetness. I observed only a faint fume of the abv and could not even be sure if it wasn’t my imagination.
Taste is outstanding. The malt is perfection in this big beer. It has substance but it also has form. it gracefully does not become too heavy and is made lighter by a good carbonation. The mouthfeel is fuller than the typical IPA but it is very big. The fruit is ripe and prominent. The mango and the pineapple combine to create a sweet tropical sensation. The beer has some alcohol in the mouthfeel as a bit of sweetness and a bit of weight but this beer is not syrupy or too heavy to be enjoyed. It does not have any alcohol presence that could be considered hot, just a mild warmth as it finishes with a hop bitter that seems much weaker than it really is next to all that sweet fruit. Finishes sticky and sweet but drying on the tongue from the alcohol .
Beautiful At 10.1 % ( which is what mine says) this is just a mere point one percent over the limit for Double Imperial Pale Ale and therefore really a triple IPA. It drinks like one. It is not a glug glug beer but it has “drinkability.”. It is the best one I have had without any harsh flavors from alcohol. This is the beer that can show you how this style is done.
Thank you Kerry T. Adair for sending me this beer.
4.
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.