Monday Night Blind Pirate
Monday Night Brewing recently announced a reformulation of one of their flagship beers — this beer, in fact. Like most breweries, the Atlanta company constantly reviews their products for quality control and to see if anything needs or should be changed in future efforts. As a result of that testing and sampling, Blind Pirate Blood Orange IPA now has a modified mash and tweaked hop addition.
I’m not entirely sure what went into this IPA previously, nor can I speak to how it tasted, but I can tell you this particular can of Blind Pirate is pretty darn tasty. A lightly dank and fruity blend of Citra, Comet, Simcoe and Columbus hop varieties are balanced well with gently bitter blood orange and a soft malt sweetness. A touch of cattiness lingers with leafy hop notes while bread and caramel fill in as support.
Now, I wouldn’t refer to Blind Pirate as overly juicy by any means — at least when compared to some of the fruit-bomb IPAs on shelves. This 7.4% ABV brew certainly presents a nice amount of blood orange influence, but it’s done in a complimentary manner to the hop blend and not in a dominating fashion. The beer is simply well balanced and refreshing with a quality flavor profile. What more could you want?
This is a review of a promotional sample.