Travel Agent
10 Barrel Brewing Co.

First off, two things about me - I live in Oregon (one of many places where IPA is King), and I have visited New Zealand. The label says "New Zealand Style IPA", which made me skeptical right off the bat, because of all the wonderful things I experienced in New Zealand, the beers were not any of them. And believe me, when I was there I tried and tried.
Taste-wise this beer is way more of a lager than any pale ale I've ever had. It has almost no scent, and even less flavor. Like one of the other reviewers, I also got this as a part of a multi-IPA pack. My only guess is that it was some sort of abject failure that went into production anyway and they had to do something with it. If I ever had a guest in my home, I'd be embarrassed to serve it to them.

I got a couple bottles of this beer as part of a mixed 12pck that I bought from a Albertsons in Boise, Idaho. It poured a hazy golden with white head that is leaving some lace. The scent had papaya notes . The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with apricot and papaya flare. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a great beer.

new zealand ipa, very solid, a touch sweet and without much bitterness though, so it almost drinks like a pale to me, lighter in alcohol by todays standards too, a cool beer for spring, these guys always do well with the hoppy stuff. pretty clear from the tap, brassy looking with some shine, and an average white head light and fizzy, clean and simple visually. the nose is fruity and with some honey sweetness to me, less white grape and herbs than i often get from new zealand varietals, more citrus to me, meyer lemon specifically, but also some sweet ripe melon in the mix here, certainly aromatic and hop driven. the flavor has great balance and comes across quite unique, a little sweet nuttiness in support, but the grain stays light, out of the way, while the hops sing the lead, kiwi fruit, honeydew, sweet orange, sort of a generic fruity pixie stick type thing too, especially on the finish and as it warms, a little bit of a different side of these hops, id love to know specifically which varietals are in here, seems only vaguely familiar and i like that. medium bodied but a long trajectory due to some residual sugar, which serves just to extend the hops, i dont mind it, and it helps that the ferment is minimal and tidy. maybe a little light on the carbonation, but again it seems intentional, lets the hops linger and permeate. neat beer, maybe just a touch safe, like this could burst forth even more in my opinion, but this still stands out as unique to me. enjoyable pint!

edit: enjoy as fresh as possible, this one falls off fast, even for the style, drink it up!