Jun 30, 2010

Pike IPA

Now that Total Wine is carrying Pike Brewing products, I’m able to get my hands on some more of their tasty brews. The latest bottle to appear in my fridge is the company’s India Pale Ale.

I cracked this one open while grilling the other day. Not only did it do a wonderful job refreshing me on a hot afternoon, but it’s probably one of the more well rounded American IPAs I’ve ever had. The hops are hoppy, the malts are malty, but they both come in at the appropriate levels at just the right point of each swallow. I only wish I had had more than the single bottle as it disappeared all too quickly.

Appearance

This IPA pours a golden amber with a fluffy, white head that left sticky lacing on the sides of the glass.

Aroma

Floral, citrus hops are the first thing to catch your attention along with resinous pine notes. There’s a slight bit of malt sweetness on the nose, as well.

Taste

The hops definitely dominate your palate with each swallow, but not in an overly aggressive manner. The pungent citrus and hope pine character is there, but there’s not much astringency until a moderate amount of bitterness late in the finish. Everything is kept on an even keel with a good malt presence that adds just the slightest amount of sweetness to temper the hop bite.

Overall

Note only is this beer damned tasty, it’s also super drinkable at 6.3% ABV. I had chilled it for about an hour in the fridge prior to stepping out into the 90 degree heat and I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing that kept me from spontaneously bursting into flames. I will most certainly be drinking more of this as the Summer progresses.

Rating: 4/5

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