Plays Well IPA
Founders Brewing Company

As a throwback flavor of IPA, Founders pay homage to the original hop-heads with a caramelized malt base and a peppery hop bite in true early nineties form.

Plays Well IPA pours a rather deep honey, copper hue and with a foggy sense of translucence. With a slight sepia foam building on the beer, the aromas of pink grapefruit and fragrant orange peel decorate the nose along with a pep of pine, pepper and herbal grasses. Heavy caramel sweetness greets the tongue with a taste shy of toffee with winter's honey, graham cracker sweetness and an overall sensation of granola.

Its toasty sweet taste extends onto the middle palate where the ale balances with hop flavors of citrus, pineapple, apricot and hints of peach. Trending bitter as the malt sweetness falls away, What's left is a toasty, peppery and nutty grain character that works with the hops for a resinous, piney and herbal taste to close the session.

Medium bodied and certainly a throwback to the midwestern IPA that was heavily influenced by British IPA, Plays Well is more of a history lesson in beer flavor than it is anything trendy, hip or new.