Malty Mark And The Hoppy Bunch
Franklin's Restaurant, Brewery & General Store

 

big thanks to drabmuh for this one. given the brewer's description, i'm seriously looking forward to this one.

poured from the growler to a sun king shaped pint glass a deep and hazy reddish orange with a finger sized foamy light caramel colored head leaving nice lace.

upon the first ounce of the pour, an immediate aroma of sweet melting caramel and floral / citrus hops.

so far, like no other IPA i've ever come into contact with.

sticky sweet to the tip of the tongue, with a taste of subtle earthy and citrus hops following almost immediately. big and bitter to the back of the tongue, but not to the point of taking over. i'm not a fan of earthy hops, but the malt balance of this brew brings the earthiness down a notch and increases the drinkability significantly.

smooth, thick, and creamy, almost syrupy. medium carbonation, alternately sweet and bitter from sip to finish.

drinkability - hmm, hard to say. though i've got a 64 ounce growler to finish off solo and i'm fairly certain it's going to happen.

From the brewer, "50% of the grain bill was Munich,Vienna and Cara-Vienna malts. This helped bring out a richer malt character to go up against a bunch of hops (pun intended). Kettle additions were Warrior,Centennial and the unlikely Saaz. Saaz is a noble hop of Czech heritage with a profile that typically resembles earthy,herbal and spicy flavors/aromas."

Beer is amber / red in color and mostly clear with a thin head of off white bubbles that leaves some lacing on the glass.

Aroma is strongly malty but bitingly hoppy and bitter, this is going to be a big big beer.

Beer is quite malty but not very sweet, highly attenuated. There is some serious bitterness happening at the back of the palate. Hop varieties are earthy and piny. Its big bodied and drinks really fine. Another interesting "Hip Hoppy" beer.