Judge's Review: 70 Rating - Altered Beast IPA by Southern Prohibition Brewing

Altered Beast IPA by Southern Prohibition Brewing was judged as an American IPA (category 21a).

The aroma is dominated by a sweetness, with a low lemony hop aroma. The hopping is obviously substantial, and has citrus and pepper notes. The hopping isn't quite in balance with the sweetness, especially for the style -- the impression instead is of a spicy sweet beer.

This beer is a sunny yellow, with moderate head with moderate retention. The beer is substantially cloudy; very difficult to see through. The level of haze made the appearance somewhat unappealing, even for the style.

The flavor was overwhelmingly sweet -- the lactose content of this beer gave it a candy-sweetness that is unexpected for this style. The bitterness is moderate, and the finish is relatively clean, despite the lingering sweetness. Surprisingly, I got notes of lemon and watermelon in the flavor. The malt character was overwhelmed by the sweetness and hopping.

The mouthfeel was as expected for the style, except the high levels of sweetness led to a mouth-filling sensation that detracted from the other refreshing components of the beer. Medium bodies, moderate carbonation, no astringency.

Overall, this beer requires some fine-tuning. The high levels of sweetness are not appropriate for the style, but perhaps more importantly, don't serve to highlight the malt or hop character. The hops could also be adjusted slightly, so that the flavors more naturally mesh with the sweetness.