Punch
Peak Organic Brewing Company

Very good! and ORGANIC! Definitely is as-advertised. Light in color, hoppy, the malt comes through. An American IPA through and through! A bit different from the other Portland IPAs, more like a West Coast or American IPA. At $13 per 4 pints it is a WINNER!

J

 

 

Hazy, translucent golden appearance. Creamy eggshell white head with good retention, and lots of streaky lacing.
The aroma is sugary and candied pineapple, peach, tangerine, lemon, green tea with honey, and cracker malt.
The taste follows the nose. Candied pineapple, the concentrated syrup of pineapple, peach, lemon, and orange. A hint of grape juice, plum, and honeydew melon. Some orange peel. Big iced green tea flavor, with honey. Cracker malt. Clean finish, slightly sweet, but clean. No lingering bitterness.
Medium mouthfeel, well carbonated. Smooth and clean.
A solid NEDIPA. Crushable and enjoyable.

16oz can dated best before 4/30/18.?

Pours hazy gold with a moderate head and retention. Pear juice, melons, grapefruit pith, and apples in the nose. Medium bodied with a tacky, sticky mouthfeel. Fruit cocktail syrup on the palate with some sweet malt. Finishes with a light bitterness and lingering pears and melon.

Definatly a weird combination of flavors in this one.

 

A: The beer is relatively clear and has no visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that faded away, leaving a patch of bubbles on the surface and a small collar around the edge fo the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of sweet pear juice are present in the nose along with hints of spices.
T: The taste has flavors of pears, tangerines, and watermelons with strong notes of spices toward the finish that also linger into the aftertaste.
M: It feels just about medium-bodied and a little thick and "syrupy" on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The best way to describe this IPA would be like a spiced punch, where the spiciness is from actual spices and not the alcohol.

Serving type: can

 

Going to try to be objective with this one even though the current ratings are definitely not great, which, along with the fact that Peak has been going downhill big time for a year or two now, is definitely coloring my perception right off the bat. I have a history of ups-and-downs with Peak, and, while their bad beers are really bad, their high points have seriously kicked ass (Rest In Power Hop Harvest Oktoberfest, et al...). Most recently, I have disagreed with their decision to make every seasonal beer an IPA even though their IPA track record is spotty, along with the fact that they've made stuff like a coconut lime kölsch (which just sounds bad both conceptually and from a flavor standpoint). Anyway, let's give this a shot.

It pours a slightly hazy golden-yellow color with a bit more lightness of body than I expected. Honestly, a pretty nice pour, and the lace is spectacular. The head is dense and rocky, building up to almost three fingers when poured with some vigor, and it seems to settle down at about a finger when all's said and done. Great legs, here, too... a very nice looking beer. Hopefully it holds up elsewhere... I would love for Peak to randomly surprise me here!

The nose has a definite West Coast hoppiness right upfront; grapefruit pith, some crushed pine needles and light notes of tropical fruit swirling around a base of light malt (baked biscuit-like notes pop out initially, for instance). Honestly, this isn't bad from the outset. Light papaya and mango/pomelo start to jump out after a while, giving a little bit of a deeper insight into the smell. Sweet pineapple and melon-like notes, too. Surprisingly solid!

The flavor profile is definitely chock-full of the same melon, citrusy and lightly tropical elements found in the nose, but they seem a little neutered. With a slightly imbalanced element that seems to favor malt flavors a little too heavy-handedly for me, Punch starts to lose me. I am not a huge fan of the hops used in this beer (Azacca/El Dorado, I believe?), so maybe I'm biased even moreso than I already admitted in my opening paragraph, but the delicate flavors just don't add up when compared to the burst of intensity the nose had. The feel is solid; massaging carbonation, medium body with some heft to it from the 8.1% ABV and a good, solidly bitter finish. It's better than some of the other Peak IPAs I've had over the past couple years, but they can probably still do better. I've flipped opinions on them so much, it's not unlikely that they'll randomly have a breakthrough soon...