10 Barrel Brewing Company Joe

**Aroma:** “Some wonderful fruit notes of blackberry, peach, fresh blueberry, mango, and pineapple balanced against light onion notes and an almost white-wine character. Very resinous, catty and fruity offset with a dank and grassy earth character.” **Flavor:** “Hops present complex fruit notes with a little more citrus character. The onion notes are there too, but not overpowering and provide depth and contrast. Drinks super clean and malt and hops are in balance. Juicy hops flavors up front, reminiscent of grapefruit and pine, along with tropical fruit notes and an appropriate level of bitterness. Finishes dry and clean.” **Overall:** “A very creative beer with a unique, beautiful, and delicious hops profile. Nice dry, balanced base beer with enough malt backbone to support but not crowd the hops, interesting hops profile that showcases both piney, resinous, dank flavors with classic American citrus notes and tropical fruit hops flavors, and a very clean fermentation profile to boot. Extremely drinkable thanks to lower bitterness but no doubt about it, the hops are the belle of the ball. Buy by the case—it’s an excellent example of the style.”

**Aroma:** “Moderately sweet with a slight phenolic. Peach, mango. Not intensely hoppy. Some malt sweetness. Some orange, pine, and lemon.” **Flavor:** “Sweet up front and strongly bitter on the finish. The phenolic shows up on the palate as well. Hops evoke peach, orange, and mango. Slight slickness on the tongue indicating possible diactyl. The bitterness fights against the sweetness in this flavor a bit. Finishes with some warmth. Very mild hops avor compared to most the others. Some grassiness and a bit of floral. Lots of pithy bitterness and little of that malt complexity from the nose.” **Overall:** “Slightly disjointed with a few missteps that detract from overall impression. Hops character is pleasant, but is overshadowed by the phenolic. The beer has some good flavors at its core—the malt character has some nice sweetness, and the hops have some good juice and bitterness. But the sum of the whole here is not greater than the parts.”

**Aroma:** “Pine needles, huge mango and passion fruit, and grapefruit. Some mild earthiness and a lovely malt sweetness. An amazing example of the what wonderful aromas hops can bring to the table.” **Flavor:** “A really well-rounded pint. Fruit notes are nicely balanced, with no one aspect sticking out obtrusively. Earthy character from the nose is apparent in the flavor as well, even more so as the beer warms. An exceptionally smooth bitterness helps this go down easily, and good residual malt sweetness provides just the support this beer needs. So juicy and in all the right ways. All the strong flavors promised in the aroma are delivered, and then some.” **Overall:** “The beautiful hazy, deep gold color and fluffy white head are inviting, and the fruity, slightly earthy aroma are nice, but it’s the balanced flavor that really makes this beer shine. The weight on the tongue, the carbonation, and the individual flavors play well together, and the bitterness and malt sweetness are perfectly aligned to make this dangerously drinkable. A well-executed IPA. I'm having a hard to time writing enough effusive praise for this beer because I can’t put down my sample glass.”