11th Anniversary IPA
Smog City Brewing Co.

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: American IPA
Glass: Pure Project 3rd anniversary 14-oz. Teku glass
Price: $3.63
From: Trader Joe’s in College Area (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: April 23, 2022
Consumed: April 26, 2022
Misc.: Canned on April 12, 2022

Grabbed a variety 6-pack and a 4-pack of El Segundo’s Broken Skull Lager after a quick stop with the family. Smog City’s website called it “Brewed in celebration of our 11th year as brewery, this is a traditional west coast IPA with a fresh twist! We added Muscat grape must, to turn this on its head into a wine/beer hybrid. Delicately floral & tropical with a sweet aroma of the fresh pressed grapes and a subtle flavor of ripe lilikoi, the Eleventh Anniversary IPA is superbly drinkable with a great dry finish.” Hops mentioned on the can were Galaxy and Simcoe.

Poured a light amber clear color with 2-to-3 fingers of frothy off-white head. Could see just a few bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. World-class uneven foamy lacing. Excellent foamy retention. A really good-looking beer (probably underrated this part). (Sight - 4.75)

Smelled Galaxy, pine, pineapple, Simcoe, grapefruit rind, white grape, plum, nectarine, toffee, caramel, black pepper and earthy malt. Just a little better from the can. (Smell - 4.00)

Tasted about as good as the nose. In order got Simcoe, pine, pineapple, grapefruit rind, Galaxy, white grape, plum, mixed berry, nectarine, caramel, toffee, earthy malt and lingering black pepper. (Taste - 4.00)

Medium body. Creamy texture. Average-to-lively carbonation. Long, earthy, bitter finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Really enjoyed this one overall. Outstanding. (Overall - 4.25)

4.11 | 92 | A-

Like grapes? You have your beer her as this almost seemed like a hopped-up Kolsch, although this was indeed an American IPA when all was said and done. The hops and heft were here, albeit quietly, as this was full of a wide range of fruit flavors. Those were this beer's trademark as this felt like fermented fruit juice, with honey and pine tying everything in together.

The pour to this was nice as the liquid was a bright gold with plenty of evenly-settling head topping it off. Lots of webbed lacing stuck around along the top half of my pint glass, although there weren't any discernible rings among the rocky remnants that lasted for the duration. Lots of turbid peach, mango, and muscat grapes in the nose as the taste had ripe fruit, crab apple, pear, turbid hops, and a bit of swamp water rounding out the full and heavy fruit flavor that left a waxy coating on my teeth once this finally went down. The Simcoe and Galaxy were in nice proportion here with a recessed malt feel on the palate.

Enough carbonation and heft were here as the aftertaste contained plenty gooseberry dankness. Dated 4/14 on the bottom of the can with "#1520" written above it, this was a nice beer with a offbeat label, unlike any that I've ever seen on an anniversary beer. Drink it once, take the time to enjoy it, and savor it for all of it's unusual worth!

 

 

Sadly, this got missed by me in my beer fridge and forgotten for too long. So take this one with the grain of salt.
Poured a transparent straw yellow with active carbonation and a short (and shortly lived) nearly white head.
Aroma was piney and curiously dry- not sure how one smells “dry” but it came to mind.
The taste was really good; tropical fruit and piney and esters- starting out great!

Then what I am guessing were the muscat grapes kicked in and it went oddly. Like a really dry white wine with an IPA mixed in.
I tried to appreciate it for what it was and largely succeeded, but not sure if I would want to pick up a 4 pack.
The feel was good, any dryness was either in my head or not there. I think, I can’t state for certain.
Enjoyed trying this and thinking about it, it was a very good learning experience. Just wish I had gotten to it fresh as it looks (based on earlier reviews) that the grapes were much less present.

 

 

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a clear yellow with white head. Good lacing, and tons of bubbles throughout. The nose is pine, resin, dank, grapefruit, lemon, and leather. The taste follows the nose, but a bit sweeter. The pine is there, but balanced by orange, lemon, grapefruit, and a bit of candy. Wheat, grass, and a bit of leather.

Mouthfeel is light and crisp. Overall, a good IPA.

In a world where West Coast IPAs now taste like hop candy and most other of the other IPAs are basically fizzy fruit smoothies, Centennial hops have sort of fallen by the wayside. Thank you, Smog City for keeping them alive. Canned on 04/14/22

Pours with a viscous but clear brass body and beige foam head. Great retention, tiny bubbles, thick bands of lacing--looks great. I also like the idea with the can art: a jam band composed of the various mascots of their biggest beers. Would have liked to see Lil Bo Pils on the maracas or something.

It smells amazing. From the galaxy and simcoe, we're still getting a lot of tropical fruit here. Mango, durian, papaya, pomelo, orange and fuji apple are balancing against earthy and herbal notes of purple sage and dank pine resin accentuated by the centennial hops. The malt takes a seat a few rows back in this one.

The taste of this is an elegant experience, and I almost rated it a 5. At first its all astringent orange and grapefruit peel, but breaks down quickly into the tropical fruity sweetness suggested by the nose. Immediately after, the bitter herbal notes make themselves known, but instead of drowning the fruit, they achieve a delicate balance within moments, leading into a finish that can actually be described as effervescent and mellow. The only reason I'm not giving this a 5 is because I think there could stand to be a bit more interesting character here. Maybe some juniper or basil notes... But that's being really nitpicky.

Mouthfeel is thick. It's still has some bite, but it's a little heavy for a WC IPA. Especially at the 6.7% ABV.

Overall a fantastic beer and a great nod to the classic East Coast IPA. It's kind of like Founders Centennial IPA and Racer 5 had a baby. Cheers!

Canned 4.12.22, opened 4.30.22, received in Bif15 from @beersnake1

Such a fresh new beer that I get to add it to the BA database

Brewers notes: our 11th anniversary ipa blends a west coast ipa featuring galaxy , simcoe and centennial hops with muscat grapes for a twisted hybrid that’s packed. With sweet tropical fruit flavor …


Frothy two finger off white sticky foam cap, good retention , settles to a solid layer with sticky lacings over a crystal clear golden liquid with active carbonation streams

Aroma is pine and orange citrus rind

Taste is a mild pine , orang citrus, orange rind

Clean, crisp, gentle hop nibble , medium sudsing

Good beer,New brewery , new beer

Simcoe, Galaxy, Centennial hops with a hint of Muscat grapes added to the mix. canned 4/13/22. consumed from a tall tulip glass 4/22/22. Pours a crystal-clear yellow gold with rising carbonation bubbles and 1 finger brilliant white, tight head of reasonable longevity. Not a lot of lacing though. pineapple with secondary other tropical fruit and perhaps the merest hint of pine(?) on nose and taste. Very clean taste, medium body, hoppy bitterness. A beer worthy of an anniversary offering