Opening Day IPA
Watch City Brewing Co.

I actually had to look at some previous reviews just to be sure. My notes are from a session a few months back, and with all the wheat beer remarks, but with the word IPA in the name...I just had to be sure. Does look like a Dunkelweizen in the glass, with clove and banana confirming this in the aroma. Clove and banana are the prominent flavor I pick up on, with some interesting minty notes in the finish. The glass did end up with a nice thin lace curtai when all was said and done.

Sampled on-tap at Watch City brewpub.

This IPA poured a very dark, hazy/cloudy, brown color with light tan, sudsy foam. The smell had some light banana and roasted coconut aromas with a touch of cloves, very much like a hefeweizen. The taste was lightly sweet with flavors of banana and wheat, some yeast, light hoppiness, and a touch of citrus. The mouthfeel was smooth and fruity and yeasty with medium body and moderate carbonation. This was a very interesting "IPA", low on hop bitterness and with a twist of fruity esters and phenols and yeastiness from the wheat and yeast.

I was surprised to still find this one on tap, so I had to have one...

Poured a dark, dark brown; completely opaque. Head was creamy and tan, though a bit thin. Clings very well to the glass.

Aroma had light clove and choco aspects, combined with a light florality.

Body was a decent medium, with a light, welcoming feel on the tongue.

Flavor was a bit wheaty and dryish, with choco notes here as well. A touch of clove is present again, with a distinct floral hop character not found in a regular Dunkel Weizen, which lingers long and hard. An interesting hybrid, though I found it more to be like a DW with the hops thrown in than an IPA. Not bad overall. I have this rated a touch higher than the Maibock I also tried today (for their respective styles), though I actually liked the MB better...

Zum Wohl!!

overall: 3.9
appearance: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 4 | drinkability: 4

809

Opaque brown with an off-white head.
Loaded with Bavarian esters accented with juicy malt and Glacier hops.
Lots going on in the nose. Bannanas and cloves,toffee,chocolates and a pungent citrus note in the background.
Musty and earthy with an everfaint hint of sharp cheddar.
Slightly sweet to start,quickly bulldozed by hop bitterness and Mr. Dunkle bringing up the back of the pallet.
Aggresive hops in the bittering with caramel and yeasty spice.
A faint astrigency in the finish.
Medium bodied and a little slick.
Tough to meld these two styles and to me the Dunkle wins out.

Wow! A combination of my two favorite styles, IPA and Dunkel Weizen. I had been anticipating this beer coming available for a few weeks, and was not disappointed.

The appearance is probably the least favorable aspect of this beer, it somewhat has the look of dirty water. But, once the glass hits your lips and you get your first whiff of the aroma, you forget about the looks.

There appears to be a distinct banana taste in the end, followed by the tell-tale sign of a hop presence, bitterness.

This is a very easy-to-drink beer, I could enjoy several in a row. A very unique beer to be sure!

Wow! Really interesting beer as it pairs two of my favorite styles together in one mad-science combination. This is a Dunkelweizen combined with an IPA. How do you do that? It is the color of a nice dunkel. It’s a dark brown with mild ruby highlights, very hazy with a light head, and little to no retention, but a good lace. The nose is mainly dunkel malt. It has a pronounced sweetness, but has a citrus back from the hops in the beer. The taste is very complex. Dunkel malt sweetness up front with a little coriander and banana from the yeast. More grapefruit from the hops comes mid-drink and towards he finish. This beer really grows on you. It has a mildly slick mouth feel and a high drinakbility. Very Unique, very good.