Jan 8, 2018

Adroit Theory EBK [until they kill me edition]

I’ve had an up and down relationship with Adroit Theory. In the four years since I first encountered their B/A/Y/S, the company has produced some interesting beers with varying degrees of success (in relation to my own preferences) — the biggest problem being quality control. That’s gotten better with recent releases, including this version of EBK (8.3% ABV), a New England style IPA. This hazy brew certainly looks the part when considering the style it is mimicking, but it still packs a welcome bit of hoppy bitterness.

For a style of beer that is supposed to be fruit-forward and less bitter, EBK [until they kill me edition] leans on flavors of grapefruit and a bit of tangerine, but it certainly isn’t as fruit-juicy as many examples of the sub-genre. As for the bitterness, this double IPA still packs a decent pucker despite being tagged with only 40 IBUs. That’s fairly light for a double IPA, but any amount of bitterness in an IPA is welcome in the Barley Blog headquarters. About my only complaint with this beer is the amount of dryness in the finish. It’s a bit too dry for my personal liking, but it doesn’t detract too much from the overall experience.

EBK [until they kill me edition] is the best beer from Adroit Theory that I’ve cracked open in some time. It’s a solid imperial IPA with good flavor and decent amount of hop bitterness that hits the mark nicely. I’m not sure it fully meets the amount of fruitiness and lower IBU of your prototypical New England style IPA, but I don’t care — it works for my tastebuds just fine. I wouldn’t mind seeing this one show up in six packs instead of the company’s typical 22 ounce bottles.