Wild Cat IPA
Karlsson Brewing

Wild Cat is conflicted by an agreeable taste with knockout bittering contrasted against an odd punky smell that makes me want to flee. The smell is not especially forceful, but emerges episodically when coaxed and is painful to behold. It’s quite possible that the beer itself is not the point source of this smell – it could be a tainted glass. But it honestly smells like rubbish, or at the very least, like bacteria. Call it a smell with a bad haircut. Again, it’s not very strong, but the odor is a big red flag.

The rest of the beer is marginalized behind this deficit but can be characterized as a darkly translucent, unfiltered IPA of burnt orange color whose initial showing of suds and lace are apparently corrupted by a chilled, impure glass. The taste is puckering with citric bitterness and the mouthfeel gritty. There’s still enough appeal in Wild Cat’s flavor to make it a worthy pint if the smell could be purged and the glassware properly cleansed. ‘Till then, pass.