Bulletproof Zest
Flat Tail Brewing

22 oz bottle

Pours about a half inch white head into my pint glass. The body is a very light yellowish-orange. The body is basically completely see through. I know it's a session IPA, but this is the clearest IPA I’ve seen in a long time. The carbonation looks extremely low. Head is gone, but has left a small film on top of the body, lacing looks like it'll be alright, but we'll see about that. Overall I’m not a fan of the body, but it's not a bad looking beer so far.

The beer does not list using mozaic hops, or which hops are used for that matter. But damn, huge tropical fruit nose on this guy. Mango and papaya just blowing it up. Super clean, relatively sweet smelling. Not a whole lot in the way of bitterness or what I would consider "normal" hop aromas. This beer has lemon and orange peel, I don’t really get that at all, accept for maybe a small hint of citrus in here. I can't find the IBU'S anywhere, but they seem low, which is normal for a session IPA. This beer is so heavy on the tropical side, it's borderline musty. Like, just the lack of citrus and normal hop aroma. It's just surprising. It's a really nice smell, and a solid 4, but it could easily be more than that if it were a little more complex or lively.

The flavor on the other hand is not there. Man, layin a little bit of an egg on the flavor. I don’t like to mix mouth and flavor when reviewing, but the mouth is so under carbonated, it's the first thing I notice. Anyways, for flavor - you do get that tropical fruit flavor, but again, it's so anti climactic that it's almost bland. I still think it tastes good, just not what I'm looking for in a fruity IPA. Also just not getting any of that lemon or orange. The beer is so not-IPA-y that it almost has a creamy flavor and feel to it. Again, not bad, just not what I want in a beer I expect to be crisp. Super small bitterness, not floral, not piney, really not anything I can call citrus. Just not a lot going on. It's an ok beer, it's tasty, and maybe it deserves a higher rating, but it's not what is advertised on the bottle, at all. And it's not really what I’m looking for. Maybe it deserves a 4, but there are so many better tropical flavored IPA'S, so 3.5.

For a darker beer, this mouthfeel would be acceptable. And if I didn't know what I was drinking, it'd probably be acceptable too. But I know what I opened, and what I was expecting, so this is not acceptable. The carbonation is pretty darn low, and for a session IPA the body is just too creamy for me to enjoy. In this style I want the beer to be crisp and lively, and it's not. 2.5-3.

Drinkability is very high, it's light, tasty. Not much that's stopping me from drinking it.

Overall, it's a fine beer. I can't rag on it too hard because it tastes good. But after thinking about this beer for 20 minutes, I mean it's just so far off category. Usually I'm not a stickler on this kinda stuff, but damn. I'm drinking a cream ale with mozaic hops. Yummy, but not what I was expecting, and it's just an odd combination. Anyways, not a bad beer, but off category, and confusing.

The appearance turned out pretty decent. I got some good lacing, a little patchy, but not bad. The head was gone by the end of the pint. Not an amazing looking beer, but it had an ok initial pour, and ok lacing. A 3.5 is probably ok. Could be a 4, but 3.5 is fine.