Adaptation Ale

This brew pours a hazy gold with a lingering, finely-bubbled white head that leaves an attractive lacing. The aroma in this brew is quite assertively complex and amazingly fresh, with a combination of dankness, lemon and lime zest, melony and fruity hop character along with a hint of sweet malt in the back. Galaxy hop notes seem to stand out more than the other hops that are used.

The flavor of this surprisingly smooth and creamy brew delivers clean base malt character without any specialty malt distractions. There is a touch of cereal note presumably coming from oats, which also explains the creamy texture. The brew exhibits a moderate level of hop bitterness – not overwhelming, and definitely within the proper balance for the style. Dank, resiny hop flavors come up front, which are then followed by moderate levels of tropical hop flavors of melon, pineapple, fruit and lime zest notes that linger well into the aftertaste. The finish displays a drying tartness that seems to come from the citrus zest character along with lingering bitterness, which prepares the palate very well for the next sip.

This is a very enjoyable and well-crafted brew. There is a lot going on in this one, which is nice to see in a standard-strength American IPA.