Sidekicks
El Segundo Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

12-6

 

 

 

 

 

Copper in color. Typical IPA nose. Taste is atypical of most IPAs. Not as much hop profiles that I would like to taste. Afterwards the hop bitterness comes forward. I only wish the hop flavors would lead and follow.

A: Lots of hop aromas: berries, tropical fruit and stone fruit, with a faint malt sweetness.

A: Deep gold color, clear, with a moderate white head that has adequate retention.

T: Lots of tropical fruit, with berries, and stone fruit hop flavors, moderately bitter, but well balanced through the finish.

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

O: Solid; the beer has a great berry, stone fruit hop flavor that's pretty fragile. Very tasty fresh.

 

 

Type: 22-oz. bottle
Glass: Clear 16-oz. Bruges beer glass
From: Bine & Vine Bottle Shop in Normal Heights, Calif.
Price: $7.99
Purchased: Oct. 5, 2017
Consumed: Oct. 11, 2017
Reviewed as: American IPA
Misc.: Bottled on Sept. 22, 2017

Picked this up on a recent trip to Bine & Vine. Was really looking forward to it, a collaboration between El Segundo and Alvarado Street. El Segundo has always done some good IPAs, but this would be my first time trying Alvarado Street. Had heard great things though. After some searching, found a description online, which read, “Sidekicks is a straight-up West Coast IPA with the one, two, three combination of Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, and Idaho 7. We designed this blend with the Alvarado crew when they came down on their way to the appropriately-named Festival of Dankness. She is all but ready to roll, and the hops just CANNOT be contained within the glass. Huge tropical fruit and danky resin permeate throughout.”

Poured a gold clear color with 2-to-3 fingers of frothy white head. Lots of bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass. World-class spiderweb foamy lacing. World-class retention. (Sight - 4.50)

Smelled a pleasant mix of hops with Southern Hemisphere leading the way. Would have guessed Galaxy had I not seen the mentioned hops. Also got all three mentioned, in order Nelson, Idaho 7 and Mosaic. Also spoiled fruit, trash, apricot, orange rind, red grapefruit, dank pine, papaya, stone fruit, melon and cantaloupe. (Smell - 4.00)

Tasted better than the nose. Wow. Pleasantly surprised. In order got papaya, spoiled fruit, trash, orange rind, melon, stone fruit, citrus pulp, juicy apricot, dank pine and red grapefruit. For hops - Idaho 7, Nelson, Galaxy (even though it’s not in there) and Mosaic. There was some spice in there as well. (Taste - 4.25)

Medium body. Oily texture. Lively carbonation. Dry, dank finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Just an excellent West Coast IPA. Lovely. (Overall - 4.25)

4.21 | 94 | A-

 

 

 

Clear golden brew with a dense white foam in the Maredsous goblet. Aromatic with peach, pine, and that hint of Mosaic cat piddle. But smooth and elegant, with a sharp edge.

This is not such a lush fruit monster, but it does have some grilled pineapple and appley flavors. The clean piney breeze blows through from start to finish. It's moderately bitter but quite friendly. More of a hopped-up Pale Ale which is fine with me. One of the more drinkable IPAs I've had recently, as the herb-clogged murky NE style sweeps the nation. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Best Damn in downtown SD.