Oct 31, 2016

Coronado Brewing Guava Islander IPA

Guava Islander IPA (7% ABV, 65 IBU) is the latest addition to Cornoado Brewing’s core lineup. Based on the company’s 2014 World Beer Cup gold medal winning Islander IPA, this IPA uses eight pounds of pink guava puree per barrel, For fans of guava, that should be enough tropical fruit flavor to carry you through the upcoming Winter months. For someone like myself, who’s not really a big fan of the fruit, it’s still a lot of guava.

Even though Guava Islander is packed with loads of the fruit’s flavors and aromas, there’s a welcome blend of Centennial and Columbus hop varieties present to cut through the puree and offer a moderate level of bitterness that keeps everything in check. That hop bite works wonderfully for myself, keeping that juicy guava from completely dominating, but tropical fruit fans will still be happy as the puree arrives right from the start and sticks with the tastebuds until the long-lasting finish and chest-warming glow.

Even though I’m not the biggest fan of guava, I thoroughly enjoyed this tasty IPA. It was certainly fueled by the fruit, but had enough of a hop presence to keep it from overwhelming my personal preferences. The unfiltered IPA is a nice addition to the company’s year-round lineup and offers fans of the brewery an opportunity to have a side-by-side taste test between this IPA and it’s “standard” namesake.

This is a review of a promotional sample.