Serving: As I usually do, I chilled the brew to 40F and held it there for two days. The 3oz tasting mug was chilled to 50F for control. On the pour I got the result you see to the right. If you think that looks a bit cloudy, you are right, it is. Perhaps it is from the apricots added to balance the bitterness of the hops (see the neck label below), but there definitely was stuff in the brew. The head was tall, even with a fairly gentle pour, a bit more than half down the side of the glass, and the rest down the middle. Not excessive head, but just dumping this brew out of the bottle might result in a mug of head.
First impression: Hops, a sour and slightly citrus aroma. Sometimes a citrus aroma is a hint that the brew was fermented at an elevated temperature, but since this has fruit added to balance the flavor I gave it the benefit of the doubt and decided it was an expected and desired characteristic, and that the cloudy appearance was also expected, as mentioned on the neck label. The color is straw, my standard backdrop may make it look a touch darker than it is, this was shot by natural daylight.
The taste was great. A strong but not overpowering impression of hops, but overall a complex mix of hops, malt, alcohol, and a hint of fruit. If you like brews with a complex taste and perfect balance of flavors you will like this a lot. You will definitely not get the whole impression on the first sip, maybe not with the first bottle. If you usually choose brews where there is little definition between the flavors offered, you may not care for this one, particularly if you equate IPA with stunning loads of hops. Yes, I like those too, watch the next few reviews, there are several IPAs with much stronger hop character. I will note that the hop taste got a bit stronger as the brew warmed to 50-55F, but it was a small change, the balance remained amazing.
Food pairing: I rarely if ever fix food just to try with a taste test, if I like a brew I will taste other bottles with assorted foods. I'm far more likely to grab a cold brew to match the menu than select a food to have with a sampling. That's why my food paring for this IPA was jalapeno poppers, some stuffed with cream cheese, some with cheddar. Awesome match, the IPA didn't overwhelm the more subtle flavor of the cream cheese, but the fruit stood up to the sharpness of the Cabot sharp cheddar and the heat of the peppers.
Being a guy who grows his own hot peppers, I grabbed a fresh jalapeno from the veggie drawer. Store bought rather than home grown, even in a snow-less winter, this is northern New York and the only thing that grows well in the winter is my heating bill. Since most jalapeno and similar peppers are hotter near the stem, I cut a slice from the stem end, about 1/8 inch (3mm if you like) complete with the seeds and pith where the hot lives. Whoa, good pepper! Forehead sweating, tongue burning, makes the scalp itch, time for a big swig of IPA! And that was a pairing made in heaven, the fruit cooled the heat a bit, the hops and malts complimented the taste of the pepper, and the whole effect was a roaring success, which continued until I finished the bottle and consigned the rest of that particular pepper to my "use in cooking" bowl, where it got used in stuffed peppers (report on that pairing coming).
Overall impression: I am known in my local brew store as someone who buys a lot of single bottles for variety. I intend to bring home a 12 pack of this IPA if they have it. This is destined to be one of my regular rotation of session beers, those which I enjoy over the course of an evening. While I have added two brews to my "change of pace" list so far this year, I rarely have more than one. This IPA just "wears well" and if I have one with dinner I will enjoy another with a little snack later in the evening, and maybe one more as a nightcap to balance Craig Ferguson. I like this brew a lot!
In the cooler: a few more IPAs, a hefewiesen, and a sampler pack from Rock Art Brewery.
Also on tap: a post on chill haze, seamonkeys, live yeast, and visual effects in brewing.
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