Legion Brewing Company High Praise India Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

Legion Brewing Company’s High Praise IPA is a Great American Beer Festival gold medal winner. This West Coast IPA is 6.8% ABV. Legion Brewing, here in Charlotte, North Carolina, combines the best attributes of a West Coast IPA and modern hops. This beer pours a golden color with a one-and-a-half-finger white head. The head is fizzy but does linger for a few seconds. The aroma is bitter, citrusy, and hoppy. The flavor is citrusy, peely, and melon. This beer is hoppy, bitter, and crisp. This has a lighter mouthfeel. The finish is crisp and bitter with hints of fruity flavors. The aftertaste is bitter and hoppy with faint fruity notes. This is a good beer, and I can almost see/taste why this won a gold medal. At the end of this beer, it is faintly pilsner-like. That gives High Praise India Pale Ale a B+. However, I do recommend it. It is worth drinking. I would drink this again, soon! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Hoptimum 2026 Apperance

Posted on by Evan

Hoptimum from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is an 11% Triple IPA. This big IPA is seasonally brewed (for the 2026 vintage) with Two-Row, Pale, and White Wheat malts. It is also brewed with ale yeast and hops, including Chinook, Citra, CTZ, Ekuanot, Idaho 7, and Magnum. This IPA pours a deep golden with a one-finger, white, steady head. The aroma  is bitter, slightly fruity, hoppy, and dank. The flavor is big/strong, bitter, dank, and lightly oniony. Somehow, I found this beer to have a crispness.  This has a medium mouthfeel. The finish is bitter, dank, and fading citrus. The aftertaste is bitterness and hops. They linger for a while and slowly fade. This beer doesn’t feel as strong as advertised, but you know that it is. It is balanced just right. I think Sierra Nevada brews great IPAs, and this one is great too. I give Hoptimum Triple IPA an A. It has all the big flavor you want in a triple IPA without being too strong. If triple IPAs are your thing, then I recommend Hoptimum. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Hi-Wire Brewing & NoDa Brewing Company Odyssey Hazy IPA

Posted on by Evan

I like a beer that is for a good cause. This beer, a collaboration between Asheville’s Hi-Wire Brewing and Charlotte’s NoDa Brewing Company, is Odyssey Hazy IPA. This beer is 6.5% ABV and was brewed in Asheville, North Carolina. Proceeds from the beer go towards helping western North Carolina, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene. This beer pours a light, hazy yellow with a big three-finger white head. The aroma is tropical, citrusy. bitter, and hoppy. The flavor is a blend of lemon, orange, and tropical fruits. This beer is also bitter and hoppy with a bit of sweetness. The mouthfeel is medium. Then this beer finishes with a tropical hop bitterness. The aftertaste is bittersweet and hoppy, but that fades as the tropical fruit lingers. This was a most pleasant hazy IPA and one that I would recommend. I give Odyssey Hazy IPA a B+. The bitterness is stronger closer to the end of the pint, but it was good otherwise. The fruity flavors are well-balanced and delicious. This is a good beer! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Russian River Brewing Blind Pig IPA

Posted on by Evan

Russian River Brewing’s Blind Pig IPA is a sought-after holy grail beer. A Blind Pig is a slang name for a cheap or low-class illegal drinking establishment or speakeasy during prohibition. This IPA is 6.25% ABV, and it uses  Amarillo, Citra, Cascade, Tangier, Nectaron, and CTZ hops. This year-round flagship IPA pours a golden hue with a beautiful, two-finger clean and pillowy white head. The aroma is bitter, woody, and piney. The flavor is citrusy, bitter, piney, and a bit woody. This is more like a traditional IPA with a bit of citrusy fruit flavors. This IPA finishes with a bitter pine and citrus flavor. The aftertaste is a lingering piney bitterness and a fading citrus flavor. That citrusy flavor is almost nonexistent. This IPA has a medium to barely full mouthfeel. This is a good drinking beer. You could drink two or three pints of this IPA. I recommend Russian River Brewing Blind Pig IPA. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Russian River Brewing Pliney the Elder

Posted on by Evan

Russian River Brewing Pliny the Elder is one of the holy grails of craft beer. I am in Los Angeles, California, and I found it at a local Whole Foods. This 8% double IPA is named after Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist, historian, and author. In his writings, he refers to “Lupus Salictarius,” meaning Wolf among willows. He died in 79 AD while saving people from the erupting Mount Vesuvius. This IPA pours golden yellow with a big two-finger white head. The head leaves wonderful lacing behind. The aroma is grassy, bitter, and hoppy. This really smells like a classic IPA. The flavor is hoppy, piney, smooth, clean, and somewhat sweet. This IPA has a medium mouthfeel. This beer has a smooth, bitter, and hoppy finish with a hint of pine. The aftertaste is piney and bitter. That does linger for a moment or two. This beer was deliciously perfect. I give Pliny the Elder an A+. This is really well brewed and worth all the hype. Now I see it is a holy grail beer. I highly recommend it! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Legion Brewing Sunny Disposition West Coast IPA

Posted on by Evan

The store shelves are filled with IPAs. It seems like more than half of the beer on store shelves is an IPA of some sort. Sunny Disposition is a 7.2% ABV West Coast IPA from Legion Brewing here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Legion is one of my top breweries here. They make great-tasting beers. This IPA pours a deeper yellow with an almost two-finger white head. The aroma is slightly malty, with notes of onion, light grapefruit, and bitter notes. The flavor has notes of onion and a malty backbone. There is bitterness and grapefruit. This has a light mouthfeel. This IPA finishes with a bitter malt flavor and fruity bitterness. The aftertaste is light malt and onion flavor that fades rather quickly. The bitterness sticks around. This beer is okay, and I’ve had better versions of a West Coast IPA. Sunny Disposition is a C. It’s average, and I wouldn’t run out after this Legion Brewing beer. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Springfest IPA

Posted on by Evan

A yellow six-pack of beer caught my eye the other day. That is Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Springfrest IPA. Thgis 6% ABV IPA is a limited release made with malts such as Carapils, Malted Wheat, and Pilsner. There are hops like Centennial, Centennial Lupulin, Citra Lupulin, and CTZ Lupulin. Sierra Nevada uses Ale yeast here. This IPA pours yellow with a one-finger white head. The aroma is lemony, bitter, and light. The taste is also lemony, bitter, and light. It is also herbal, which plays well with the lemon notes. This beer has a light mouthfeel. Then comes a nice, lightly hoppy/bitter citrusy finish. The aftdertaster is bitter and citrusy. This is a good beer, not overly bitter or hoppy. I find it a good spring drinker, and you can have several. The flavor is balanced enough for drinking a few. I recommend Springfest IPA. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Old Armor Beer Company Helo Haze Hazy IPA

Posted on by Evan

Helo Hazy, a 6.7% ABV hazy IPA from the brewery that brewed Lost Lieutenant Gold Ale; Old Amor Beer Company. This hazy IPA is made with Citra and Amarillo hops. This beer also has Verdent IPA yeast. This IPA pours bright, hazy yellow with a bright one-finger white head. The beer has bitter, hoppy, piney, and citrus aromas. The flavor is bitter, citrusy, crisp, smooth, and piney. This hazy IPA has a somewhat medium-bodied mouthfeel. Then this beer finishes with a crisp, piney, and bitter flavor. This beer’s finish lingers with pine bitterness. Overall, Helo Haze is a good beer, but the crispness somehow feels like it is interrupting the rest of the beer’s flavors. That gives Armro Beer Company Helo Haze Hazy IPA a B+. This beer should be had. I would have this again. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Brewery Ommegang Passport Royale Mixed Culture IPA

Posted on by Evan

Passport Royale from Brewery Ommegang is a Mixed Culture IPA in collaboration with Liefmans Brewery (Belgium) and Birrificio Ducato (Italy). This beer is basically a 7.5% sour IPA, dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic hops. This IPA also has Pilsner, Pale, and wheat malts. It also has spices such as coriander and orange peel. I have never heard of this type of mixed culture IPA before. This beer pours deep orange with a one-finger white steady head. The aroma is sour, fruity, tart, hoppy, and bitter. The flavor is Belgiany, tart, and citrusy. This beer has a light bitterness. The flavor tastes faintly like two different beers. But more like a sour beer than IPA. The mouthfeel is light. Then it finishes with a tart bitterness. The aftertaste was weird. It has a sour hop note that ends badly. Passport Royale is not great; it’s a D+. Yes, I finished a pint of it, but I wouldn’t reach for another one. This beer was weird, but not terribly bad, yes. No, I would not recommend Passport Royale. The whole thing was like drinking a weak-flavored IPA, then drinking a mild sour beer. It had no balance. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Damm Complot Mediterranean IPA

Posted on by Evan

I am in Barcelona, Spain, and I saw Damm Complot Mediterranean IPA at the hotel rooftop bar. This 6.6% ABV beer, made by Damm, is produced by Estrella Damm. This beer uses eight hops, such as Nugget, Summit, Willamette, Citra, Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Mosaic. These are grown on the Mediterranean coast. This beer is only sold in Spain. This IPA pours orange with a one-finger white head. The aroma is bitter and hoppy with a slight earthy note. The flavor is bitter up front with an earthy flavor. There is a slightly orange/grapefruit flavor on the back of the mouth. This has a medium body mouthfeel. Then this IPA finishes with a bitterness. The aftertaste is of bittering hops, and it goes quickly. This is an okay IPA, but it lacks the flavor of other IPAs. But you can drink a few of these. The flavor is not too much. I give this a C-. The flavor profile is just one note, but that is not too bad, and due to the uniqueness of this beer, I would recommend it. But if you don’t have this beer, you won’t miss much. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!