Hop Vault Series No. 2 - West Coast IPA
Terminal Gravity Brewing Company

Pours a hazy copper-orange from the can. The reason I’m reviewing this brew is that I quite like it. It is surprisingly smooth and clean on the finish. The hops aren’t too bitter, verging on subtle and the varietals used blend well. It is a very good tasting IPA in my opinion, and taste is what matters most in a beer, right? I’ll buy another 6-pack if I see one.

missed the first one in this series, but its cool to see something new from these guys, always the same old beers it seems, at least what comes to boise. in any event, this is solid, sturdy, and different, but not real well refined. west coast ipa right in the name, but this is still plenty hazy from the tap, sedimented even, dull looking and heavy in appearance as a result, although the head is creamy and lively and lasting. the aroma here is heavy handed hopping, some green vegetal pellet character, but also bitter orange and sticky pine sap, resinous and northwestern, bitter too, with quite a bit of richer malt backing it up, balanced but big. definite grapefruit in the taste, pithy and bitter as well a zesty, some nutty character from the grain keeping it grounded, some danky weed character as it warms too, some sweeter citrus along with a honey note from the malt, and then bitterness trumping fruitiness through the back half, although a mango hint emerges at temperature. there is some uniqueness here in the hop profile, but it seems a little overdosed to me, and with the weight of the base beer, its a heavy pint. this could use some cleaning up, some filtration or something, but at the same time its robustness is kind of what makes it stand out. not their best beer in my opinion, but i hope to see more from this series come out this way...