Cuda
Benelux Brewpub & Café

 

 

On cask in a pint glass. Small off white head, lots of lacing left behind. Color is copper orange and it's slightly hazy. Huge orange pine blast in the nose with sweet caramel. Tastes quite citrusy with caramel and a bitter pine finish. I really like this beer.

 

 

 

 

Pours a crystal clear copper with a good couple fingers of fluffy beige head that settles to nothing. Web-like lacing. Slightly fruity bitter pith and resinous, herbal grassy nose, sugar, hard candy. The flavor is much stronger with grassy, green, oily medicinal bitter flavors. There isn't too much citrus but there are a lot of hops without a doubt.
The palate has a good hoppy 'shellac' quality to it with a lingering resinous feel that is nice but wears on you a bit after a while. It is light-medium bodied with lots of soft little bubbles, a creamy feel and a lingering resinous character to the finish.
On the whole it wasn't super malty, but there is a little bit of sweet lemon cake in the smell. However, the smell definitely stops short of how big the flavor is.
This is a very good take on an IPA. It makes me happy to not be afraid to order IPAs in Quebec as much as before : )
Would definitely have again; worth a try if you're ever at the brewpub.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A self described "West Coast IPA"

Wonderful appearance, dark amber, minimal carbonation, light, bright white head, with just a load of lacing... it just won't go away, you've got a nice froth on top the entire time, and lacing from the top to the bottom of the glass. Smell doesn't show too upfront, but what does is earthy, grassy, piney hops. Taste follows and this is really hop forward, very earthy, herbal, grass and pine.... minimal showing of any citrus... not sure if this is single hop origin or just focusing on a few varieties... nice mellow bitter aftertaste, an just small traces of malt, but not sweet at all. Body is very smooth and well made as with all of Benelux's beers, light carbonation, very drinkable (it is a brew pub after all!) with a medium dryness to it.

Overall a very nice IPA that isn't the most complex, but is smooth, easy drinking but still packs a good amount of earthy, Wet Coast herby, pine, wet tree, hop bitterness to it. Not as good as perhaps something like Catapult, but in Quebec, one of the better ones and a good go to when sitting on a hot patio day.

 

 

 

A: Pours an amber hue with a creamy finger of head with some nice carbonation evident. Very good lacing and very good lacing.

S: Loads of pine, caramel-like malts, tart grapefruits, and a bit of a sour lemon quality to the aroma. Very pleasant but somewhat limited in complexity.

T: Plenty of piney hops, tart grapefruit, and faint caramel-like malts. A bit of an earthy quality to this reminiscent of mushrooms oddly enough. Definitely hop forward but just enough malt to provide a solid foundation. Very nice.

M: Appropriate on all fronts with an oily and somewhat-thicker mouthfeel with perhaps above average carbonation for the style, but not a detriment.

O: A great west coast style IPA that's (luckily) usually always offered on-tap and is a solid go-to when at Benelux. Tastes even better when drinking it during happy hour