SweetWater Brewing Company IPA

**Aroma:** “Clean citrusy hops aroma with a slight malt sweetness. Woody, floral hops with a light citrus edge evoke orange peel, mild vanilla, and black pepper. Perfume-like aromatics—very floral. Light bready malt notes in the back. Grapefruit comes out as it warms. Nutty yeast aromas and spicy phenolic notes. Esters of pear or plum.” **Flavor:** “Slightly bready malt bill balanced to style by classic West Coast citrusy hops. Spicy, almost Belgian phenolic yeast character with a light wheat tartness, decent floral hops flavor under the spice, pineapple. Peach and cranberry notes. Malt is bready and slightly sweet with a clean finish. Lingering bitterness in finish without harshness.” **Overall:** “Good example of a West Coast pale ale in terms of hops character and overall balance. Leans toward the phenolic character of a Belgian pale ale, but very tasty. Caramel sweetness may be a bit high for style, but the layers of malt and ester flavors add interest. A full-flavored, excellent choice to pair with richer dinners.”

Imagine that you’ve dropped by your local dispensary, trying to decide which cannabis strain to choose. Also a little bit of blueberry and other fruits. The terpene character carries through to the flavor but unexpectedly simplifies a bit into a more normal dank hops flavor. The bitterness is fairly clean, lasting into the aftertaste without being harsh.

__Aroma:__ “Highly aromatic passion-fruit richness. Plenty sweet and tart in the way only passion fruit can give. Lightly sweet background malt is somewhat hard to find, as are any hops. Fruit esters (melon, berry) blend into the background giving center stage to the passion fruit.” __Flavor:__ “First impression is the taste of fresh passion fruit. Flavors of mango, papaya, lemon, lemongrass follow. Good underlying base beer with a subtle hops bitterness and supportive bready malt. Highly carb’d with intense fruitiness that dances on your tongue. A lingering not-quite syrupy mouthfeel and nice lingering passion fruit in the aftertaste.” __Overall:__ “Excellent aroma and a nice drinkable tropical-fruit beer that would be refreshing for sunny summer or spring days. It’s very focused on the fruit. Some may find the syrupy richness a bit much, but this beer is otherwise very drinkable and enjoyable.”