Stone Brewing Company Stone IPA

Posted on by Evan

This beer from El Segundo, California, is Stone Brewing Company Stone IPA, 6.9% ABV. This IPA has Magnum, Chinook, Centennial, Azacca, Calypso, Ella, and Vic Secret hops. Stone IPA pours a copper color with a three-finger steady white head. The aroma is bitter, dank, and tropical. There is a little pineapple, lemon peel, and mango. The taste is also tropical, lemon peel, bitter, and dank. The mouthfeel is medium. Then this IPA finishes with a bitter fruit hop note. Then you get a fruited bitter aftertaste. This Stone IPA is an old-school west coast style IPA. It gets a B- from me. It’s a little too much at first, but then you get used to it being a bigger IPA. I recommend it, but there isn’t a need to rush out for it either. It’s solid, but there are better west coast style IPA. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

El Segundo Brewing Company Steve Austin’s Broken Skull IPA

Posted on by Evan

This beer is Steve Austin’s Broken Skull IPA, 6.7% AVB, is a collaboration between WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin and the El Segundo Brewing Company. These two also have a lager. I have only seen this beer in my area. The El Segundo Brewing Company is in California. This beer has Cascade, Citra, and Chinook hops in it. This IPA pours a yellow color with a three-finger thick white head. The aroma is bitter, and citrusy, with lite earthy notes. The flavor of this beer is not unlike the way it smells. There is an excellent bitter citrus fruit (orange and some grapefruit), and hoppy earth notes. Then mouth feel is medium. Then this beer comes to a smooth bitter finish and gives a bitter citrus aftertaste. This beer is delicious, and it is easy to drink. I give Steve Austin’s Broken Skull IPA from El Segundo Brewing Company an A+. It’s not trying so hard to be good and different. That is much needed these days with all the IPA trying to be so out there and overly interesting. That sometimes does make for a good IPA. I highly recommend this IPA, so find it and drink one, two, or four. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

NoDa Brewing Company Southern Love, Southeastern Style India Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

I saw this at my local Harris Teeter grocery store and picked up a four-pack. This beer is Southern Love, Southeastern Style India Pale, 5.5% ABV. This beer is from NoDa Brewing Company here in Charlotte, North Carolina. This IPA made with Grits, Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra, Centennial, and Chinook hops. This beer pours a yellow with a four-finger white head. The aroma is of light fruitiness, crispness, and bitterness. The taste is crisp, with fruit, and a bitter flavor . The mouthfeel is light. Then this IPA beer finishes with a crisp, refreshing bitterness. The aftertaste is also bitter and crisp. I think this is quite a refreshing IPA. It is not heavy on bitter flavor or mouthfeel. I’d say Southern Love is an A+. If you haven’t had this yet, then you should be soon. I highly recommend it. It is good for the warmer weather that is coming or here already. It has a light fruity bitter quality to it. Please be kind, be safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Eurisko Beer Co. RIPA

Posted on by Evan

I took a trip over to a local pasta shop Pasta and Provisions and bought some beer. One is RIPA, 6.0% ABV from Eurisko Beer Co. and is from their Wonderful; Weird beers. This beer is a Rice India Pale Ale, and that is why it’s RIPA. This brewery is in Asheville, North Carolina. Eurisko uses rice, Citra, and Crystal dry-hopped, and then it’s finished with an addition of SPECTRUM Citra dry-hopped liquid. This beer pours a yellow color with a big three-finger steady fading white head. The aroma is hoppy, piney, dry, and bitter. The flavor is like its own aroma. It is dry, hoppy, bitter piney, and has little rice lager taste. The mouthfeel is barely medium. Then this ale finishes dry and bitter. The aftertaste is dry, and bitter, with a little crisp note. The rice adds a nice touch to this IPA. I don’t see many rice IPA, there is a little more rice lager out there. This is a good IPA, and I give it an A. I didn’t get much of the Citra hop flavor but that didn’t knock it down too far. It’s an IPA that I would recommend trying. Please be kind, be safe and remember to always enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Foothills Brewing Hazyum IPA

Posted on by Evan

Hazyum IPA, 6.9% ABV is a hazy version of Foothills Brewing’s (in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) Hoppyum IPA. Foothills Brewing uses locally sourced wheat and malts. This IPA pours a cloudy darker lemon yellow color with a two-and-a-half finger white head. The head is somewhat quick to go. The aroma is tropical, orangey, and bitter. The flavor is also tropical and orangey with grapefruit, melon, and pineapple. It is also bitter towards the back of the tongue with a bitter and tart flavor. The mouthfeel is light but barely. Then this IPA finishes with a tropical fruit flavor. The aftertaste is of bitter tropical fruits. This IPA is a nice hazy version of Hoppyum, a tropical forward Hoppyum. I like Hazyum, and would Gove this a B+. I still think that Hoppyum is just a bit better. I would still recommend Hazyum IPA. Please be kind, be safe and enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Legion Brewing Pineapple Juicy Jay India pale ale

Posted on by Evan

Pineapple Juicy Jay IPA, 6.5% ABV, is Legion Brewing’s pineapple version of their Juicy Jay IPA. This IPA uses pineapple puree. This beer is made locally in Charlotte, North Carolina. I have had the non-pineapple version of Juicy Jay many times, but never this version. This IPA pours a pineapple yellow color that is hard to see through. It has a two and a half finger white, steady head. The aroma is juicy and tropical, with some bittersweetness. The flavor is also fruity with bittersweetness and touches of tartness. The mouthfeel is slightly medium. Then this pineapple IPA finishes with a nice bitter pineapple flavor. Then the aftertaste of tropical fruit comes. This beer is a good variation of Juicy Jay IPA. I give it an A. I highly recommend it. It’s bright and tropical without being overly bitter. There is just enough pineapple flavor to give it that tropical feel. This beer is a good summer IPA. Please be kind, be safe, and enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Highland Brewing Lower Falls IPA

Posted on by Evan

This beer from Asheville, North Carolina’s Highland Brewing is a lower-calorie beer. Lower Falls IPA is 3.9% ABV and brewed with Centennial, Amarillo, and Citra hops. This beer also has 2-Row, unmalted wheat, malted wheat, and flaked oats. This IPA pours a light cloudy yellow color with a think bright white one-finger head. The head is steadily fading, then it quickly dissolves. The aroma is big and bright, with citrus orange and some grapefruit. The flavor is citrusy with lemony, light grapefruit, and orange. It is lightly hoppy and bitter. The mouthfeel is refreshing. Then it has a nice bitter fruit finish. The aftertaste has citrusy hop notes. This beer is a great sessional beer that is crushable. You can have several of these without the flavor or the bitterness overpowering your tastebuds. I highly recommend Highland Brewing Lower Falls IPA. It will not blow you away with the flavor, nor will it underwhelm you. It is a solid session IPA. Please be kind, be safe and enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Powder Day IPA

Posted on by Evan

I saw this Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. beer yesterday at the grocery store, and the white a green packaging stood out. This beer is Powder Day IPA, 7.7%, a double-dry hopped seasonal (winter seasonal). It has Munich, Two-row pale, and Wheat malts. This beer also has Amarillo, Chinook, Comet, Citra, Herkules, Idaho 7, Mosaic, and Polaris hops. Lastly, they use Lupulin powder. It is the yellow gland of a hop plant in which the acids and the essential oil can be found. This IPA pours a yellow/golden color with a bright white two-finger semi-steady fading head. The aroma is piney, slightly citrusy, and bitter. The flavor is piney, hoppy/bitter with light citrus. This beer does taste like a winter IPA. The mouthfeel is light. Then this IPA comes to a bitter piney finish. The aftertaste is a bit citrusy, with a little bitter pine. This beer is a good IPA, and it doesn’t taste or drink like it is 7.7% ABV. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Powder Day IPA is an A. But I think that after the third, the flavor is too much. So I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I would go back to this beer again and again, and I think you should too. Please be kind, stay safe and enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Armored Cow Brewing Things We Don’t Say Hazy IPA

Posted on by Evan

From right here in Charlotte, North Carolina, Armored Cow Brewing has made a beer that benefits and brings awareness to mental health. This beer is Things We Don’t Say Hazy IPA, 5.8% ABV. This beer pours a hazy yellow color with a four-finger white thick and fluffy head that is slow to fade away. The aroma on this IPA is juicy, fruity (citrus orange), hoppy and bitter. The flavor of this beer is juicy with orange citrus fruit, crisp, smooth bitter, and piney. It has a light mouthfeel. Then this IPA finishes with a piney fruity note. Then gives an aftertaste of bitter citrus fruit. This beer is great hazy IPA. I think Armored Cow Brewing Things We Don’t Say an A. It has a solid drinkable flavor, and it makes you want another when finished. I highly recommend it. It was wonderfully fruity and juicy. Please be kind, stay safe, and enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Burial Beer Mystic Caravan India Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

This beer is another beer from Burial Beer. This beer is Mystic Caravan India Pale Ale, 7% ABV. This IPA has rice and Lychee fruit. Lychee is a tropical fruit that is red on the outside and white on the inside. It grows in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. This beer is a collaboration with Unseen Creatures Brewery and Blending. This IPA is double-dry-hopped with Citra, Nelson, and Topaz hops. It’s fermented with Lychee fruit, mashed with rich, and barely. This beer pours a cloudy yellow color, with a one and a half finger white head. The aroma is semi-sweet, fruity, and hoppy. The taste of this IPA is dry yet semi-sweet, hoppy, fruity, and citrusy. It has a lighter mouthfeel. It then finishes with a bitter dry flavor. The aftertaste is dry and hoppy with a citrusy flavor. Burial Beer, Mystic Caravan India Pale Ale is interesting, with rice and lychee. I give this IPA a B. The l sweetness threw it off a little, but it wasn’t the worst. This beer is good. But for an IPA, I’ve had some that are better. I would recommend this but not to the average run-of-the-mill IPA drinker. I enjoyed it, and yes, I could have more than a couple. Please be kind, be safe, and enjoy responsibly! Cheers!