Beer judged as an American IPA, BJCP Category 21A. Served at 43oF
Informed that the sample was a full sixteen ounces, I asked my assistant to use a favorite English pint glass I have with a gentle, inward-tapered shoulder -- one that has done good duty with aromatic ales. "Pour it hard and pour it full!" I admonish. She leers, then cracks a faint grin.
The beer is presented with a nice off-white foamy top of roughly 1 inch of mixed bubbles, showing good stand and heavy lacing. The color is medium-amber with some orangeish tints, estimated at ~8 SRM, and a very minor bit of haze. It looks the part.
The aroma is redolent with citrus (orange, tangerine, faint lemon) and a strong resinous pine character above a lightly sweet-malt/candy-caramel backdrop. It is strong and forward with dry-hop character, but also has a structured malt presence as well, giving it a balance that can sometimes be missing in west-coast variants of this juggernaut style. Its strong piney, orange-like notes show lineage to older, less tropical, fruity and dank variants back when Centennial was the hop du jour. Very nice.
The flavor profile starts with a modestly strong caramel note releasing to a big and firm but well-balanced bitterness, with mid-palate flavors of orange peel, pine, grapefruit, and piney/resinous hop character along with only faint fruit esters of cherries and apple. The long finish lingers with smooth bitterness and faint, crackery malt that is dry but not bone-dry. The body is medium-full with some very nice protein-polyphenol thickness to the mouthfeel that lends some heft to the aftertaste despite the squeaky-clean finish provided by the ferment and firm carbonic conditioning. The beer hits all the right notes with signature hop character and great malt balance; assertive but still very drinkable. I would use this beer as a double-duty hot weather thirst-quencher or a counterpoint to a spicy and rich meal.