Pink Brut IPA
Country Boy Brewing

Turning the taproom over to the country gals, the brewing team of Country Boy embrace the women of the craft beer industry, along with the Pink Boots movement and a pink beer that wraps around the trendy brut IPA style with strawberry and hibiscus for a beer that's anything but girly.

Hazy mauve and swirling with a dainty white necklace of lace, Pink Brut IPA leads with a tangy berry scent that rides slightly above the scent of citrus, tropical and floral hops. A mild mannered sweetness comes with honeysuckle, agave and a nod to wine spritzers to start.

As the sweetness drifts and the hops gain control of the middle palate, a citrusy taste of orange peel and pink grapefruit become the focal points of taste while the strawberry flavors come with their own nearly raspberry, cranberry and currant character. The freshness of torn pine needles, light hemp and pineapple rinds garnish a moderately bitter and slightly tart late palate.

Medium bodied and certainly a more tepid attempt at the dryness and effervescence of the set standard for Brut IPA, the fruit-centric IPA finishes floral with rose hips and sharp with fruit skins and hop leaf. Not quite champagne-like, Pink Brut exits the palate with more of a sangria moment than that of IPA.