Style: American IPA

ABV: 7.3 IBU: 45.0

92/100

Aroma:	11
Appearance:	3
Flavor:	18
Mouthfeel:	4

Cigar City Brewing Space Pope

What the brewers say

Brewed with an astronomical amount of Mosaic, Citra, Hallertauer Blanc, and Galaxy hops that lend notes of passion fruit and melon to the clean flavors of base malt.

What our panel thought

Grassy, catty, woody, and dank hops aromas. Some cotton-candy sweetness in the aroma. Clean and crisp hops bitterness with a flash of berry flavor. Malt is medium, lightly toasted, with some soft sweetness.

What our editors thought

Unfiltered but not quite hazy, the subtlety of the nose feels almost English (are those esters or hops notes?), and the grassy hops underpinning the fruit only furthers the U.K.-meets-American feel. The sip is more di-verse, with herbal tea–like tannic bitterness, soft citrus, and gentle strawberry and apricot esters.

Review printed in: Let's Play IPA (Aug-Sept 2019) (View All Issues)

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“Moderate diesel-and-resin hop aroma, with light tropical hints and a bit of bready malt. Golden and bright, with a head that retains well—great body and carbonation. In the mouth, the hops shift more into resinous pine, paired with a smooth, round, and slowly building bitterness, while the malt evokes biscuit and pie crust. The aroma carries through to the flavor, with rounded garlic and diesel, resin, light pineapple, and mango hop flavors, buoyed by a moderate malt sweetness that keeps things in balance. Finishes mostly dry, hops in sync with malt and bitterness, as they carry into the aftertaste and fade off at just the right time. Very pleasant.”

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Fairly muted aroma: orange, peach, grapefruit peel, light diesel, hint of white grape. Those carry into flavor, where bready, honey-vanilla sweetness merges into smooth bitterness—orange-mango hops, grassy-spicy undertones—and low alcoholic warmth. Medium-full body; lightly sweet, fruity finish.

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