Schlafly / The Saint Louis Brewery Tasmanian IPA

**Aroma:** “Juicy, juicy, juicy! It’s like snifing a bowl of assorted fresh fruits. Just delightful. Big piney notes up front with slight honey sweetness and a slight musty note. As it warms, more sweet- ness than hops, light barleywine-like notes with dark fruit such as plum.” **Flavor:** “Plenty of fruit to go around— passion fruit, mango, bananas, pineapple. Delightful malt character delivers on flavor but tastes just a touch thin on the tongue. Bitterness is there but merely lurks in the shadows.” **Overall:** “Slight graininess distracts at first sip. Perhaps this is from a hop? A lovely fruity IPA that will satisfy hopheads but could also be a nice introduction to the style for those who don’t enjoy traditionally “hoppy beer.” Little of the harsh bitterness that might turn newbies away—it’s all smooth fruit. Would prefer just a touch more residual sweetness and body, but that’s a minor complaint.”

__Aroma:__ “Subtle aromas, with hints of citrus, grapefruit, orange, and lemon with slightly pithy notes. Blueberry and cherry notes and a tiny bit of dank herbal and floral hops. Bready caramel malt.” __Flavor:__ “Bergamot, tangerine, and herbal notes up front, with some grapefruit pith and hops. Moderate esters bring in notes of cherry and blueberry, which play nicely with the citrus, the lemongrass, and bitterness of the hops. Light simple malt bill adds a supportive caramel-malt character. It’s well-balanced and not too aggressively bitter, if a bit too pithy. Dry finish, very clean.” __Overall:__ “For an IPA, the aroma is pretty understated. The fruit and hops blend nicely, but neither stands out. The malts are simple, balanced, pleasant, and dry. The bitterness is firm, but the citrus pith competes, making it too pithy to be pleasant. It’s more bitter than fruity, yet it’s drinkable on a summer day.”

**Aroma:** “Initially, malt is more prominent than hops aroma, though as the head falls off, some citrus and subtle piney character come out. Somewhat restrained citrusy hops aroma with a caramel malt sweetness coming through.” **Flavor:** “Somewhat one-dimensional citrus hops up front quickly give way to an overly prominent caramel malt flavor. Finishes bitter but with a moderate amount of competing sweetness. Hops flavors that do come through are typical NW flavors.” **Overall:** “A bit too much malt sweetness and crystal malt character, and not quite enough hops balance. Bitterness is decent but could benefit from more late addition or dry hops. Hops profile is a bit one-dimensional.”