Beach Retreat
Pizza Port Solana Beach

 

 

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: American IPA
Glass: Clear 16-oz. Bruges beer glass
Price: $2.25
From: Trader Joe’s in Hawthorne, Calif.
Purchased: Aug. 21, 2020
Consumed: Aug. 22, 2020
Misc.: Canned on July 29, 2020 at 9:49 a.m. PT

Grabbed a can of this with a bunch of other singles on a recent trip to Trader Joe’s. Usually not the biggest fan of Pizza Port IPAs, but have had a few recently that I’ve enjoyed. Throw in Beachwood and I’m sure it would be good. Pizza Port’s website called it, “Beach Retreat is an IPA brewed in collaboration with our Beer Buddies at Beachwood Brewing. Expect aromas of fresh citrus and tropical fruit that lend flavors of orange peel and pineapple. A full body and subtle notes of biscuit serve as the perfect balance for this brew.” Couldn’t find a list of the hops.

Poured a medium yellow clear color with two fingers of off-white frothy head. Lots of bubble streams coming up along the sides of the glass and from the bottom of the glass. Outstanding lacing. Excellent retention. (Sight - 4.25)

Smelled skunky dank pine, resin, Simcoe, garlic, onion, cat piss, wet grass, spoiled orange peel, herbal, black peppery spice and earthy trashy malt. A little better out of the can. (Smell - 4.00)

Tasted about the same as the nose, maybe a tad worse. In order got skunky dank resin, pine, bitter aspirin, onion, garlic, cat piss, wet grass, spoiled orange peel, herbal, black peppery spice and earthy trashy malt. No mention of the hops, but all signs pointed to Simcoe. (Taste - 3.75)

Medium body. Oily texture. Average carbonation. Long, bitter, spicy finish. (Feel - 4.00)

Really dug this one. Just an outstanding West Coast IPA. (Overall - 4.00)

3.92 | 88 | B+

 

 

 

Clear yellow brew with exuberant foam in the German wheat beer glass. Plentiful suds in the mouth with a sharp, hoppy jolt. Some malt mellows the attack and while it starts out as sweet as some other rich IPAs, the bitterness takes over the tongue. Highly aromatic with pine and mango. Tastes of tangerine with a touch of papaya and grapefruit peel for the finish.

This one is more dank and bitter than most of the fruity IPAs that Pizza Port cranks out. You might say it's more of the West Coast classic. And yes, it shows the influence of the Beachwood theory of too much is never enough. Always worth trying the new brews from PP, though. From the 16 oz can purchased at Bine & Vine. "Canned on 08/04/20" stamped on the bottom, and instead of a fashionable political message it says "Cheers."

Can poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery pint glass

A: Pours golden yellow with a frothy eggshell white head that settles to a light layer and leaves a little spoty lacing.

S: Resinous, pine and citrus zest lead, some tropical and stone fruit, some green dank herbal notes, crackery biscuity malt, and a touch of caramel honey sweetness.

T: Opens with resinous pine, quickly followed by citrus, grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon, tropical and stone fruit, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, peach, apricot, and strawberry, underlying dank herbal notes, a little green, crackery biscuity malt, and caramel honey sweetness.

M: Medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: Exactly what you would expect when these 2 breweries join forces. Great use of new school hops to make a modern West Coast IPA. Really enjoyed this one.

 

Beautiful pour. Classic west coast. Dank aroma, some orange peel notes and a tangerine-green taste. Drying finish. Near perfect carbonation Solid, wide distro too.

Pours a greenish-yellow with glowing apricot highlights. Bubbles of all shapes and sizes rise to a white and uneven seafoam head. Huge toad's eyes bubbles mix in with tiny races. Looks alive, and a bit of a mess.

Aroma is clean but thin, with lemongrass, fresh fig, and passionfruit. A bit of mint. Not much pine or dank here, nor too much citrus either. Like some sort of new-wave fruit salad.

Taste is smooth, and again, thin, on the tongue. More fig, some dragonfruit, a little bit of lime leaf. Underlying it all, the classic Pizza Port yeast profile. No pronounced bitterness, but the overall effect is clean, rather than juicy. No real off flavors, but nothing particularly interesting here, either. The alcohol is remarkably well-hidden; you would never guess this is 7.2% ABV.

Mouthfeel is good, soft, and fills the mouth like dollops of whipped cream. Fits the rest of the beer well.

Overall, this isn't bad -- there's nothing wrong with it -- but there's nothing to write home about either. It's clean but muted, fresh, but unremarkable. Sort of like trying to listen to a talented band through a speaker set to "2." It may be called Beach Retreat, but this beer really seems to have retreated a bit too far back from what it could be. If the aroma and flavor could be cranked up to "11" (or heck, even "6"), then this might be a different story.

34 day old can into tulip glass.

Crisp and dry WCIPA, nose isn't great (earthy and grainy). For the hop bill, this doesn't strike me as a beer I'd expect from either establishment.

Wish I'd bought 1 instead of 3 cans.

I like it to a degree, but that could easily be due to hazy/juicy fatigue.

 

Can from casknflask San Jose.
Approx 2 wk old.
L: clear copper. Moderately thick white head. Not much lace.
S: grass, floral, bread.
T: grapefruit, honey, piney resins grassy bitterness. Bread. No booze.
F: Smooth, crisp, dry.
Overall: Pretty good wcipa. It is well-priced.
Everyone loves these breweries but it just feels really weak. Like they pulled all their flavor punches to appeal to a light beer crowd.

 

 

So here Raul is drinkin’ the thang and thinkin’ them dreams. Hits me well and good like having a pillow fight with Candice Sawanepoel - yeah, I like dat. It speaks to me like Mozart while the sun spills over the horizon. I mean, just drink it and be real with yourself.