Think Tank #16
Kern River Brewing Company

Pours a bright gold tan with a cap of foam that hangs around for days. Light aroma but it more than makes up for it on the palate, bursting with an intense pineapple sweetness that's big and bitter. Bam! Pow! Yum! Golden yellow with a chill haze. Great tangerine squeeze of an aroma. Piney pith and a sappy bitterness complements the freshly squeezed juice. This is a good one. Drink it fresh.

L: Pours hazy brown bronze with 2+ fingers of pillowy white medium density head with good retention and left ringed lacing.

S: Lots of candied fruits lead the way, some undertones of floral and grassiness.

T: Follows nose well, but with less sweetness than anticipated from the candied fruit. Grassiness gains more prominence and some a citrus hides underneath. Finishes with moderate bitterness and slight acidity, acidity lingers a bit.

F: Medium bodied with higher carbonation, lively on the tongue with a bit of burn from acidity.

O: Enjoyed the beer, but not enough for a second bottle purchase. Definitely follows more traditional West Coast trends, but surprisingly tastes more like a 9% DIPA than a 7% KRBC IPA.

Piney and earthy.

Kind of like my feelings for Kate Upton, I’m coming around to these Kern IPAs. Ya know, Blondes didn’t really do it for Raul at first, and those rocket fuel Kern IPAs didn’t really tickle Raul’s pickle for the longest time. But what we have here in Think Tank #16 is perfect subtle West Coast hoppy flavors, met by a delicate warmness that I believe I would obtain from Kate only after one date.

Yep!