Flight Plan
Lake of Bays Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tallboy purchased at the LCBO; dated Sept 12 2019 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy golden-amber colour, sporting nearly an inch of soapy, foamy white head that lingers for ten minutes or so, depositing a generous coat of lacing as it dissipates. A lumpy cap and wide collar are the eventual remnants - this is a very attractive looking glass of beer. It smells of melon, orange and grapefruit, with hints of apricot, tropical fruit and earthy, piney hops.

Pretty straightforward for a DIPA - I'm getting some grainy, bready malts and caramelized sugars, followed up by notes of mandarin orange, grapefruit and stone fruit. The hoppiness ramps up considerably towards the back end, which is dominated by pithiness and an earthy, pine resin bitterness, with suggestions of melon and passion fruit - rather bitter into the aftertaste, but with a briefly lingering fruitiness that tempers it somewhat. Medium in body, with low carbonation levels that gently agitate the surface of the palate - feels quite smooth and a little slick, with an almost frothy texture that I found fairly appealing. The 8% is discernible, but well-integrated.

Final Grade: 3.77, a B+. Lake of Bays' Flight Plan isn't the most exciting imperial IPA I've ever had, but I don't have any scathing complaints about it, either. In fact, I'd be willing to say it's good value, at least if you're emphasising price - I really can't think of any other DIPAs that are $3.50 or less per tallboy, a price tag that is more in line with 'single' IPAs these days. It's a beer I plan to return to soon: I'd like to try it in a side-by-side comparison with several other Ontario-made DIPAs, to see how it genuinely compares to its current competition.

 

473 ml can served cold into a chalice. LCBO purchase for $3.45 CDN. Looks like this was packaged September 13, 2019. Proudly listed with 84 IBU's.

Appearance - Rich dark gold / amber colored brew. A finger or so of elegant and somewhat short lived white head on top. Lots of lacing left at the sides. Fairly hazy all things considered.

Smell - Not a real big nose, but what's there is plenty of citrus, leaning more towards grapefruit and orange with a little pine resin thrown in. Possibly mango and cantaloupe lurking in the background.

Taste - Initially some grapefruit and other indistinguishable citrus, followed by a period nearly devoid of flavor as the citrus fades. What comes afterwards is a little harsh, boozy and thick to close. Peppery and hot too. After repeated sips, just a touch too bitter for the sake of being bitter. The pine resin aspect is nice though.

Mouthfeel - Thick, syrupy and boozy - which you can get away with to a certain extent with this style, but it's a bit too much here. Peppery and hot finish.

Overall - Starts very promising and closes as a bit too hot, too sticky and too full. It's not a bad DIPA, but so many better ones exist. Worth a try for the price and local tickers, but Flight Plan needs to be rerouted and tweaked in order to make another flight down my gullet.