IPa Freely
Smiling Toad Brewery

 

 

 

 

this is my kind of brewery! really minimalist taproom, no frills people, and a cobbled together system that produces beers far better than it looks like it should be capable of making. this was my second favorite behind the city brown, which was world class. this is a tasty ipa, these guys really seem to have a penchant for them, they must have had four or five of them pouring when i was there. this one is mild as they go, a little cloudy, very foamy, and with a nose brimming with juicy northwestern style hops, bitter, a little oily, and with enough from both the fruit and pine families to keep it interesting. not the most layered or complex ipa, but it doesnt need to be. the hops shine brightly above a fresh and tempered grain bill, with heavy but not excessive bitterness on the back end and a lingering hop flavor in the tongue. neat yeast, maybe a little under attenuated, but its not a negative in this one. bigger feeling and robustly carbonated, makes it seem a little drier than i think it is. nice beer here, i liked the raspberry ipa as well, they seem to have the hoppy stuff dialed in pretty well. very drinkable too.

 

 

 

 

 

Citra IPA, 88 IBUs. My favorite of the 3 IPAs they had on tap that day.