Gold Daytonas
La Cabra Brewing

 

 

The pour of a pint can into a clear glass liter mug is a very pleasant one. There's no billowing white fluff atop that needs to recede. Instead, there's a somewhat bright copper-amber liquid with a modest and enduring white head. This is what a poured beer should look like. The smell is less spectacular, as it's a lightly funky mix of hops, yeast and malt, without any clarity. If pressed to provide one word to describe it, earthy would do. This tastes great and with complications. At first, there's the malty sweetness necessary for a great IPA. It's just sweet enough, but it's also earthy and the right opening for an AIPA. Then, in a transition that includes both tastes, the hops take over and eventually take the finish to a dry, but not astringent one. Yes, there is a bit of an alcohol presence to taste, but it's not problematic. Earthy in its malting and earthy in its hopping, this is just a wonderful IPA that remains true to the original style. This is for anyone that likes an IPA that brings sufficient doses of both malt and hops and let's you enjoy the mixture. The only legitimate complaint about this beer is for its style, it's too well balanced. A West Coast IPA is traditionally hop heavy, in a dry piney way and much less malty. Forget about the category and just enjoy this beer's goodness.