Watermelon IPA
McCoy's Public House

using their house ipa as a base, this beer is spiked with fresh watermelon juice, and while it sounds like it would be too sweet, too heavy with this base beer, or not congruent with all the hops, it really works on all counts. a slight color change, but this is little more than rose tinted, still a maltier looking ipa, frothy headed, nothing drastic. the aroma and the flavor have a ton of fresh watermelon though, and it is sweet and juicy, but its authenticity cannot be doubted. i recently had the leinenkugel watermelon shandy, and that tasted chemical heavy and forced, this is super natural, as natural and refreshing as biting into a fresh slice of watermelon, dripping juice and mild, very tasty. what i like about it is i get some aspects of the rind, or at least less ripe fruit, there is some wet bitterness in here, lush but assertive too, and it goes great with the hops and serves to balance some of the sweetness of the fruit. the hops add a lot too, citrus notes play well with the watermelon, and the bitterness is needed too. i like it being a little fuller bodied, its still beer first before its a fruity drink, and so many of these arent, that might be its best feature. its still refreshing and drinkable, but its also substantial and really is ipa at its heart. i love how honest the watermelon is here, and think this might be one of my favorite fruited ipa types of the season. really nicely done! as good as such a thing could be...