Sim-Coast IPA
Wildcard Brewing

Picked up a 4 pack of this and in the thick of it from the same brewery in the summer of 2018 on our way to a camping trip (Liquor Barn in Redding). Suprised to read here that there was Mosaic and Galaxy in the beer, it tasted like all Simcoe to me.

Pours yellow golden, 1/2" white head, good clarity. Looks like a good beer. Aroma was all bittering hops, like I said, Mosaic and Galaxy was a surprise. Very bitter pine needles aroma wise.

Taste, just keep smashing that bitter pine button. Still not getting the other hops. The alcohol seemed to be higher than listed, but sometimes Simcoe will bring that out. It definitely has a dry back end courtesy of Simcoe, there is a woodiness to the malt bill that is slightly different than the pine notes flavor wise. If there was any other impact, I would have guessed Sabro, it has that green burn edge to it. A decent beer, but a few pegs down from the California greats of the hoppy world. Their stickers didn't transfer very well either.

Straight pour from a 32oz growler to an oversized wineglass (Jester King stemware). This was released on tap this past Thursday, Dec. 7, filled on Friday, and refrigerated since then. It’s effectively less than a week old.

Appearance (4.0): This pours out three fingers of tight, crackly foam rising above the body, which is crystal-clear and orange-honey colored. As the head recedes, it leaves a handful of fat, leggy splotches of thin foam and lacing, but it’s fairly sparsely distributed. The body is gorgeous, 100% to style for an old-school West Coast IPA.

Smell (4.0): This is extremely fragrant, and I dig it. Honeydew, overripe papaya, spicy dank notes, toffee and a bit of butterscotch, common crackers, mango nectar, and something subtle but weirdly herbal all come out mixed together, making it hard to pick it all apart. Something fruity like a bit of maraschino cherry blended with overripe raspberries strikes me, too, which is crazily unexpected, but seems to split the uprights for me. Huh.

Taste (4.0): Right out of the gate, you’re hit with a big, brassy bitterness that’s floral and pithy, just barely covering some tangelo flesh, berry compote, light caramel, and brioche. The way they come together gives the impression of limeade, fruit punch, and yellow grapefruit flesh mixed with a couple of sugar cookies, before transforming into a resinous, herbal, and very spicy-dank flash that subsides into a lingering, grapefruit pith-driven bitterness. I think it’s the berry/fruit punch/limeade set of hop flavors being chased out by Simcoe’s spiciness on the backend that characterizes the palate best. No booze to be seen here at all, but the spiciness and flash citrus pith—which constitute a rather firm bitterness—would completely mask it at this size.

Mouthfeel (5.0): Here, the beer really shines as an old-school West Coast IPA: the malt is soft and slick, the hops are clean and bright, and the carbonation is soft, fluffy, and drying. The body comes in at a fully medium weight, accompanied by soft, foamy bubbles that wash across the palate and fall just short of tingling as they expand and wash out. The hop oils, meanwhile, dry out the palate nicely on the back end, leaving plenty of room for the next sip. It drinks its size and remains satisfying, while inviting the next sip soon after.

Overall (4.0): I’m bumping this up a bit from my initial impression, just because it will really, thoroughly scratch your itch for West Coast vibes. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a solid example of a classic West Coast IPA. It doesn’t feel like it’s breaking any new ground, but the odd berry sweetness and strong Simcoe presence may attract some. It’s certainly worth a try if you’re an IPA aficionado (and Jesus, aren’t we all, these days?), but it probably won’t blow your mind. That said, it’s very well done and exceptionally to-style, while retaining a couple of random notes and highlights that set it apart from your typical, properly executed take on the style.