Fat Orange Cat Vito
The official name for this now-discontinued New England IPA from Fat Orange Cat Brewing Company is Vito, The Beer Whale Cat. For the sake of brevity and, well having to type that out many times over this review, I’m just gonna call it Vito.
I’m currently working through a looooong backlog of reviews which is why you are reading words related to an IPA that I purchased back in November of last year — and subsequently a beer that is currently unavailable for purchase. That said, I think it’s still important to present this review as an indication of what Fat Orange Cat is capable of creating. And, I’ll be darned if Vito isn’t a damn good IPA despite my general malaise toward NE-style variant.
Packed full of citrusy goodness in the way of orange peel, tangerine and grapefruit, Vito presents a delicious flavor profile accompanied by soft pine and grassy hop notes. The IPA carries a fairly soft mouthfeel and just enough hop bitterness to keep it from being too fruit-forward and yet still go down deceptively easy even at 8% ABV. Vito must have been a playful cat in his day, as his namesake IPA is, for lack of a better work, fun.
If given the choice, I would generally pick your standard IPA over it’s northeastern sibling. That said, if Vito were sitting in that hazy, unfiltered slot, I would be hard-pressed not to grab it instead. It’s surprisingly well balanced for the style and just darn tasty.