Santa Cruz Red IPA
Strike Brewing Co.

Another gift from my brother. This is another brewery I'm completely unfamiliar with.

The beer pours the expected reddish amber color with impressive head retention and great lacing. This beer looks great. On the nose I'm picking up some dry citrus and a roasty quality that is pretty attractive. The flavor profile replicates the nose, finishing with some light cherry and drying bitterness. Still picking up a lot of the roasty flavor in this beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied at most, with a moderately long, roasty dry, lightly bitter finish. Alcohol is well integrated into the flavor profile, though you can tell this isn't a 5% abv APA.

Nice beer from this new to me brewery. This isn't a style I'm a huge fan of (I don't like a lot of roast flavor in my IPAs), but this is pretty good.

Thanks Mark!

Handsome red amber color with plenty of foam in the chalice. Rather faint aroma but some beery and roasted grain notes. Lively and pleasing carbonation with a malty body. Fairly sweet, which goes alright with the stronger alcohol. This is an odd sort of IPA, being even less bitter than most Red Ales I've had but it still seems to have enough balance from the hops and astringent notes. Quite drinkable and interesting to be so strong and out of the usual bitter orbit. From the 16 oz can purchased at Mirage Liquors in Palm Springs. No date.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured in an English pub pint glass from a 22 oz bomber. Nice resinous, though restrained pine notes upfront with warm bready, slightly sweet malt and cascade hops. In the mouth there's decent carbonation and some dry hopping evidently present? Unctous yet quite refreshing and easy drinking. Would love to try it on tap, unpasteurized. I think it will beat most of the competition. This is a very commendable effort in this particular (difficult) style. It does 'strike' an somewhat elusive balance between hoppinnes, maltiness, sweetness and mouthfeel/carbonation. And that's a lot to say. I will definitely have it again!