Fat Tug IPA
Driftwood Brewery

I've been drinking this beer for more than 3 years now & if you can get a fresh pint from a decent pub that keeps their lines clean - there's few IPAs that can compete.
Bottled versions are good but the canned version does NOT do justice to this IPA.

There's a reason Fat Tug has won more Gold Medals than all other Canadian Beers combined!

I would challenge any brewery to produce another IPA as balanced, crisp & refreshing as this brew.

I got a tall boy can of this beer from the LCBO store in Red Lake, Ontario whilst up there dropping my son off for two week hockey excursion. It poured a clear golden with thin white ring head that is not leaving any lace. The scent had subtle bitter hop notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with crisp malt base and bitter hop presence. The mouthfeel was medium in body and had good carbonation. Overall it is a good beer.

Clear golden amber brew with abundant foam that seems really white. Inviting aroma of melon and peach. Lively and sudsy mouthfeel. Seriously fruity with canned peaches and melon. Moderate bitter aftertaste, but definitely not the usual West Coast version of an IPA. There is a sweet side to this which is not as welcome. Tangy and fruity to the last sip. Quite sippable. Happy to find something in the big 650 ml bottle with a cap to close it up for more sipping tomorrow. From the BC Liquors store.

 

 

 

I'm not a big IPA fan, but every so often we got to get out of our comfort zone, and this is one of the top Canadian beers of the style, so lets have at 'er.

Appearance: Poured with two fingers of head that produces some lace and stuck around for a while. The body is a dirty blonde color with a slight bit of cloud and good carbonation. More lace and more cloud would probably have netted the perfect here.

Smell: Well spruce like hops dominate the nose, which is expected for an IPA. I think I'm catching a few floral notes as well, but surprising a good dose of doughy malt in coming through, giving me hope this might not be so bad.

Taste: I mean it starts out fine, as the pine like hops and the malt play off each other giving it a kind of pesto pasta without the olive oil thing going on as there's even a slight spice touch to it, but then as expected the hops take over. They aren't as bitter, as some I've had and there is a done well vibe to it...but...

Mouthfeel: ...boy do those hops want to linger, as the this missing "oil" appears here. It's a weird almost slippery cling on the tongue that I just don't car for. The transitioning is too short a journey for me and while the carbonation does try to lighten things up a bit, it can't do much in the face of this much hops.

Drinkability: I mean...at least it's not particularly dry, but that's not saying much. The hops aren't so forceful here that it's causing issues and the body is decent medium, but I'm not finishing this. Sorry guys, this isn't one of those rare IPAs that does it for me.

Final Thoughts: IPA just doesn't do it for me, but with that said are a bit more approachable to me than others. Sadly though this isn't one of them. I can tell it's done well and if you like that bitter cling, you might like this for a change of pace. I find most IPA's cling at the back of the tongue, but this one is a bit more even keel and not as fierce. That said, while I don't review a lot of this style, I do feel it is a disservice to not review them at all. Variety is the spice of life, and one day my palate may change, but today is not that day. That said, don't let my opinion dissuade you from having one, for who by all accounts, is a great brewer.

Smell > Dough and green apple, very nice and enticing.
Taste > like ash and citrus fruit, Smooth but bitter.
The taste lingers as a very bitter sensation maybe slightly more so than most IPA's.

This beer is good, It would hold strong against many IPA's although not quite an S tier because there is a bit of an "alcohol" flavor but I would definitely put it into the A tier.

 

Had this in tallboy cans in Vancouver, sourced at BC Liquors and a privately-owned store. Hope to try on draft but this review is based on the cans.

This is a tasty IPA to my unsophisticated palate. Very easy to drink, not overly malty (to me, dry is good), but the finish is too long. A bitter hoppy aftertaste lingers on the tongue long after swallowing. I can live with it but prefer the quick clean finish of RRBC IPAs. Less hops in the boil, more dry hopping, and this could be the Blind Pig of the great white north.

 

Pours golden clear with finely laced floating white foamy cap on draught in pint glass I. Vancouver at Tap & Barrel Bridges in Vancouver on Granville Island. Pine and floral on the nose, bursting hop forward bitterness on the tongue. This Canadian IPA has an intense hop profile of grapefruit & melon and restrained malt notes, 7% alc/vol and 80+ IBUs. Cheers to a really great IPA.

 

 

The most hyped Canadian IPA west of Winnipeg. A nuclear hop bomb dropped by the Enola Bitter.

Overrated.

well balanced ipa. something about the malt seems good. the aftertaste is more tropical fruity than other ipas. bitterness is just right, that bitterness doesn't seem to build in the back of mouth as much as it does with other brews. my highest rated brew so far. PS: The box says it's unfiltered, but it poured crystal clear darkish golden colour? I even swirled the can, but there were no visual particles. I wonder how it's so clear, and what a hazy version would be like?

2022-09-11
16oz can served in a big snifter. Can is dated "Best Before March 7 2023." My in-laws brought it back from a trip to Victoria, BC.

Pours clear brassy golden with a medium amount of head. Smell is moderate honeysuckle sweetness, lemon rind, a little bit of old hay, which might be anxiety about this beer's actual age.

Taste is lemon rind, a little floral sweetness, some pine/grapefruit bitterness.

Mouthfeel is medium, fairly soft. Overall, this is pretty nice. My fears about age were unfounded.

This is an awesome beer.