Mar 16, 2017

Center of the Universe Pocahoptas

I’ve only encountered a couple of Center of the Universe products over the past couple of years in my beer purchases. None of them have particularly shown well, either feeling a bit rough on the palate or incomplete in terms of flavor profiles. Pocahoptas, however, is a pretty darn tasty IPA that provides a decent hop flavor and assertive level of bitterness.

This 6.8% ABV and 72 IBU IPA is crafted in the West Coast style, using four unidentified hop varieties to develop a flavor profile packed with floral, piney and citrusy traits. The hop bite is pretty aggressive as it quickly though briefly overwhelms the flavor profile before fading very slowly to the lasting and drying finish. The beer has a good bit of crispness to carry the pine and grapefruit across the palate with a refreshing quality.

Pocahoptas isn’t the best IPA by any means, but it’s the best beer from the brewery I’ve had thus far. The decent hop-forward flavor and bitterness combine for a refreshing, albeit somewhat heavy-handed presentation. It’s an IPA that more embraces the old school characteristics than the overly fruity and floral trends of modern examples of they style — that’s something I can appreciate.