Festival Express
Foothills Brewing Company - Downtown Brewpub

Festival ExpressFestival Express
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From:
Foothills Brewing Company - Downtown Brewpub
 
North Carolina, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #1,818
ABV:
5.7%
Score:
88
Ranked #15,281
Avg:
3.91 | pDev: 6.91%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
28
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 06, 2023
Added:
Feb 22, 2020
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  3
All aboard the Express! You’re on the fast track to enjoying a juicy IPA loaded with delicious tropical and stone fruit flavors from five different hop varieties. Brewed with red malted wheat, grown and malted right here in North Carolina. Hop on board!

35 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4 by BEER88 from North Carolina

Jun 06, 2023
 
Rated: 3.5 by McBraniel from Virginia

Dec 25, 2022
 
Rated: 4.4 by esiason14 from Maryland

Sep 01, 2022
Photo of snaotheus
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington

3.62/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
2022-05-13
12oz can served in a footed pilsner. Dated 112221, so I think almost six months old. Received from @superspak in NBS BIF #15.

Pours a hazy amber-orange with about a one finger head that settles into a thick meniscus with skin that goes more than a centimeter up the side of the glass. Smell is tropical fruit, lemon pith, some fruit skin.

Taste is pith, fruit skin, and mild resin. A little hay, some vague bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light and dry. Overall, it's not bad!
May 14, 2022
Photo of nelsonracite
Rated by nelsonracite from New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Juicy and delicious. Out of the can. Solid basic IPA
Mar 05, 2022
Photo of NiceTaps
Reviewed by NiceTaps from New Jersey

4.09/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
On tap in a pint glass.

Slightly hazed yellow gold color with a 1f frost white cap. Good retention, fat rings of lacing .

Malty dough with stone fruit spread. Slightly sweet and tropical.

Smooth medium body. Moderate hop bitterness. Not really juicy.

Good ol’ American IPA at a realistic abv. Quite good.
Jan 05, 2022
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

4.18/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
19.2 ounce can into IPA glass, canned on 5/17/2021. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy medium golden yellow color with a 3 finger dense and rocky white head with amazing retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas and flavors of big apricot, mango, melon, papaya, passion fruit, blue/red berries, orange, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, bread, and herbal/floral/grassy hops. Extremely complex, juicy, and vibrant aromas, with less dank pine and earthy hop notes than the flavors. Moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, grassy, woody, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation, light-medium body, and fairly crisp finishing. Sticky hops with some light-medium grainy creaminess in the mouthfeel. Lingering resins with no astringency. Light warmth of alcohol. Only listed as having 5 hop varieties, but I had some in mind right off the bat. El Dorado, Azacca, Simcoe, Idaho 7, and Mosaic in that order. They did a really impressive job at making a standard American IPA juicy. You get the juice in the aromas, and the American IPA in the flavors. Definitely more of a west coast in mouthfeel.
Nov 06, 2021
 
Rated: 3.93 by benjaminsa from Vermont

Sep 05, 2021
 
Rated: 3.28 by Budlum from Maryland

Aug 06, 2021
 
Rated: 3.87 by AmeriCanadian from Tennessee

Mar 12, 2021
 
Rated: 4.11 by msscott1973 from North Carolina

Feb 28, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by robebo44 from Virginia

Feb 02, 2021
Photo of chinchill
Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina

3.86/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 oz can with no date indication served in a lager glass. $1.79 from the Wall of Beer in Clemson SC.
Look. Slightly hazy amber-brown body with a fine off-white head.
While the aroma is surprisingly malty for an IPA, the flavor is more hop forward while retaining a nicely harmonious malt load.
Overall. Easy drinking Brown IPA.
Jan 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by AngusOg from North Carolina

Nov 21, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by wilfonzo from Florida

Nov 02, 2020
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

3.86/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Arrives at the table cloudy and honey colored with a thick head that retains well and leaves clumps of lacing

Smell: Hints of bread and toffee blend with apricot, mango and citrus tones

Taste: A vague toffee sweetness, up front, with apricot and mango tones emerging; moderate citrusy bitterness emerges, in the middle, with a balanced finish; just a bit of a hop kick on the tail end

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: Foothills played around with IPAs a lot before the NE variation emerged and my sense here is that they basically took what they like to brew, made it hazy and dialed back the bitterness; I enjoyed drinking it but I had the sense that they were embracing the fad rather than the style
Oct 14, 2020
Photo of ChainGangGuy
Reviewed by ChainGangGuy from Georgia

3.73/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
082620.

Appearance: Pours a lightly hazy, golden-amber body with a lasting, lightly creamy-looking, off-white head.

Smell: Scent of citrus rinds, abundant apricots, a tangy wheat hint with a subtly bready quality.

Taste: A crumbly loaf of wheat bread coated with a little hint of toffee for a faint sweetness. Low degree of resinous, hints or rind and a spoon plop of apricot creme. Easy-natured bitterness. Smooth, lightly drying finish with minimal lasting hop tastes.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Overall: It's decent.
Sep 09, 2020
 
Rated: 3.53 by DVMin98 from North Carolina

Aug 05, 2020
 
Rated: 3.99 by Jcarriglio from Florida

Jul 12, 2020
 
Rated: 3.87 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Jun 22, 2020
Festival Express from Foothills Brewing Company - Downtown Brewpub
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 28 ratings