Spruce Juice IPA
Twin Peaks Brewing & Malting Co.

 

Color is a rich orangey amber in the nonic. Not so much foam but intriguing swirly clouds of bubbles. A silky and substantial mouthfeel with plenty of fine-grained carbonation. So heady with the spruce smell.

The spruce flavor is robust, to put it mildly. Number one for spruce taste in my experience. Who can remember what shellac smells like, but that's the flavor that comes to mind. Plenty sweet with malt but somehow appropriate to the rich taste. The resiny bitterness is intoxicating with aromatics.

The IPA style does not even enter the consciousness. It's bitter with the twiggy everygreen taste, but nothing like hops intrude. To me it's a spiced/flavored brew, but we'll see what BA does with that catch-alI cagtegory. I wouldn't tackle a pint of this stuff, but it's nice to have the bottle to pour a short nip. It clears the sinuses. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Bottleworks in Seattle.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a hazy coppery amber with a thin white head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of tropical fruit, citrus malt, spruce juice; spicy. Flavor is spruce, caramel malt, light citrus and mild tropical fruit, toffee, light citrus hops. Finishes with lingering citrus hops and spruce resin, interesting. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess; nice mouth feel. Delivers what it advertises, a spruce forward hopped ale with Twin Peaks typical strong malt body, in this case a nicely fruity one, although the hops are dialed back a little and there is a hint of buttery diacetyl. Nicely done for a resin infused beer, the spruce is not shy and I almost hoped for a bit more hopping to balance it out, but the strong flavors are supported well by the malt body. Not a daily session beer, but a refreshing, very Northwest flavored ale and nice for a change.