Sunken Vessale
Rogue Ales

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into my tulip glass. 46 IBU’s seems low for an IPA, let’s find out.

Appearance – Pours a solid one and a half inch head. The head is slightly off white. The body is a very dark orange, borderline brown, with hues of red. Looks Like I’ll get good lacing, but we’ll see about that. Visibility is zero, extremely cloudy. Hard to determine the carbonation. Head is lingering. Overall it’s not a bad looking beer at all.

Smell – Very interesting nose for an IPA, reminiscent of an English IPA, but cleaner, and not quite as sweet. Bitterness aroma is moderate, dare I even say low. A lot of that Pacman yeast clogging my nose frankly. Not a bad thing, I just notice it. A slight, very light fruit aroma, banana, extremely light citrus. Sweet undertones. Definitely a little biscuity. Overall the aroma is not bad, but not great. Just very different, and not very potent.

Taste – Wow, very different, first thing I notice is that extremely light fruit character. Hard to pinpoint what the fruit flavors are, banana, mango, apple, orange all come to mind. Next comes a very light, but appropriate sweetness, followed by a small but noticeable bitterness, finishing with biscuits. On more casual sips the beer comes across as boring, but if you really pay attention, it’s a subtle set of flavors that deserve a thumbs up. Reminds me of the subtle differences between some lagers. Frankly this is not where near a northwest IPA, more a malty pale ale, or even an assertive amber. But it’s very well balanced, tasty, and very drinkable. So while I don’t give points for going off style, this beer is pretty alright. Definitely not higher than a 4, but definitely not lower either.

Mouthfeel – The mouthfeel on this baby is perfect. The carbonation is low-medium, and the body is just barely heavy and chewy enough to support that, while remaining very drinkable, and not too filling. I would expect more from a full on IPA, but for this quasi IPA, it works perfectly.

Drinkability – As I mentioned, the drinkability on this is killer, for 6 percent, it drinks like 4. It’s light enough to easily put back, and heavy enough that I want more. The carbonation makes it lively enough to be sessionable, yet smooth enough to not overwhelm you at the same time.

Overall – Overall I doubt I can give this beer higher than a 4, despite it being very good. The taste, mouthfeel, and drinkability were very good, but the appearance and aroma were only ok. It’s a very unique take on an IPA, as far as I’m concerned. It’s well balanced, drinkable, and tasty. Not much more to say, good beer, not outstanding, but very, very solid.

The lacing did not turn out too hot. Still a good looking beer, but not gonna get a 4 outa me without good lacing.