Back From Bridge City
5 Stones Artisan Brewery

Picked up a four-pack of 12 oz cans at the brewery. Reviewed 4/10/19.
“Canned on 01/31/19” on bottom of can. Stored at upside down at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.25.
Body – Yellow and hazy.
Head – Large (Maximum 7.5 cm, aggressive center pour), off-white, medium density, average retention, diminishing to a 14 to 20 mm foamy crater with a couple of pieces of extremely tiny-bubbled lacing remaining near the upper lip of the glass.
Lacing – Fair. Basically long, wide drag marks of tiny to small bubbles.
First pour – Yellow, hazy.
Aroma – 4 – Definite grapefruit and some weak coriander.
Flavor – 4 – Tons of grapefruit, both the juice sac and the mesocarp. The grapefruit lasts through the bitter (pun) end. No coriander, no alcohol (6.3 % ABV), no dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, watery, lively carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 3.75 – Very juicy and flavorful. More of a NEIPA than a straight American IPA.

 

 

 

 

Poured from a good-looking bomber from Central Market. Poured into a couple different glasses, very little head, which is frustrating because other reviews have raved about the strong head. Totally opaque, orange, Belgian look that is technically attractive, though fully unexpected. Smells of grapefruit and yeast. Taste presents the grapefruit subtly, which is well done. Ever so slight hop character, and yeastiness that I could do without. I don't reach for "white IPA's", so I don't have much to compare this to, but more hop character to really fit the IPA style would be nice. It is a good beer that is nice to drink. Worth a try.

My first impression has me very intrigued, but I passed on purchasing a bottle dozens of times while shopping at my local Specs. Nice looking bottle and label, yet for some reason I never bought one. Most likely a result of lackluster reviews on BA.

The appearance is beautiful, with a full head containing big tropical aromas of grapefruit. Subtle notes of earthy yeast are detected. The last 4 ounces pour a hazy yeast packed deliciousness into my tulip. I'm not a huge fan of white IPA's and maybe that's what keeps me from giving it a great rating. Overall it was much better than expected and worth another try down the road.

 

 

 

 

 

BOTTLE: 1 pint 9.4 fl oz. Brown glass. Appealing label art and design. Unbranded black pry-off pressure cap.

6.3% ABV. Served cold into a pilsner glass at low altitude in Austin, TX. Reviewed from notes. This is a white IPA per the label - a classification I consider dubious, but I'll go with it.

Expectations are moderately high; this brewery doesn't always do good work, but it always does interesting and inspired work.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: 7 fingers wide (~60% of the glass). Frothy and soft, with a supple consistency and moderate thickness. Even and full. Good complexion. Some might call it soapy or sticky. Leaves an uneven coating of lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes. Retention is flat-out excellent - easily 10+ minutes.

BODY: Appears unfiltered. It's a murky copper with a grapefruity pulpy haze, but it's somewhat dull (i.e. it lacks vibrance and glow). No yeast is visible.

A great appearance for an IPA. It lacks the clean filtered look of most, but compensates with liveliness and a superb head.

AROMA: Soft, lacking aplomb but also coming off fresh and mellow. It's got a faint doughiness to the yeast; this isn't the clean attenuated American IPA yeast strain we've come to associate with the style. It emphasizes all of the fruitiness of grapefruit with none of the bitter bite. Fruity and floral hop notes complement the grapefruit beautifully, with ample juicy citrusy hops coaxing out more of the zest on the back end. I don't find the coriander. The malt profile is surprisingly light; maybe that's where the "white IPA" moniker is emerging from. It's a mixture of pale malts, flaked barley, and maybe even flaked wheat? I love the leavened vibe; the absence of sweet caramalt makes this aroma evoke a more refreshing and approachable flavour profile.

Aromatic intensity is mild. Overall, it's a fresh and appealing aroma.

TASTE: The aroma's promise of fresh grapefruity zest goes somewhat unfulfilled in the taste, but nevertheless the faint grapefruit that it does feature is nice. The light pale malt and flaked barley backbone is a refreshing change from the caramalt-heavy almost syrupy IPAs I've encountered too many of, but unfortunately there's still too much malty sweetness, throwing the beer out of balance. It's not that it's overmalted; it's just underhopped. Aside from some mild fruity and floral hop characteristics, there's no real hoppy presence. More of a grapefruit bitterness and pith would help dial this flavour profile in.

I find no coriander.

The yeast profile is odd, with strangely low attenuation and an almost doughy flavour I'd associate more with a Belgian style brew.

Ultimately, this build is too simplistic and not hop-forward enough. It has above average flavour duration, with grapefruit lingering into the aftertaste, but the depth and intensity of flavour are merely average. I like the premise, but they fell short of delivering the refreshing light "white IPA" I think they were going for.

TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, and (actually) medium-bodied. A lighter more refreshing feel would better fit the light taste. It's a bit overcarbonated. Somewhat spritzy. Could be softer and more fragile. It has a bit too much heft and weight on the palate as-is.

Overall, this texture doesn't elevate the beer, nor does it really bring out the best in the taste. But it doesn't distract.

OVERALL: As always, 5 Stones has delivered an inspired brew with a lofty premise, but in this case the execution falls short. I'd like to see them refine this recipe because there's plenty of potential here, but as-is it's on the high side of average at best. The concept of a grapefruit-forward IPA is nothing new, but if they can really nail the light delicate feel and play up the odd yeastiness and lack of filtration, this would be something special. Drinkable but wanting, Back From Bridge City won't impress the discerning drinker.

C+ (3.12)

Very murky apricot and grapefruit colored pour with a white one-finger head. Very light aroma of sweet fruit. Taste is fruity but spicy with the coriander really standing out. Medium bodied. 

 

 

a grapefruit ipa, cool beer because its not overly grapefruity like some of these can be, its a nice expression of the hops and the fruit together, balanced in that regard more than any other have had. there is also a cool wild type yeast in this, maybe brett, but more like a spicy saison strain, soft though, and i think it grabs the best flavors and accelerates them. hazy brew with some yeast sediment floating around under a tall tall white foamy head. nose and taste of citrus, but equal parts grapefruit and hops. clean finish, slight tartness might be from fruit, might be from yeast, but this is one refreshing beer despite its yeast character and slight textured thickness. i could drink this forever, and its one heck of a solid brew to introduce me to a brewery i have never even heard of. more summery than wintery, but these guys certainly have my attention now!

edit: i liked this less on tap at the brewery than i did in the bottle, maybe bottle conditioned or something, but it wasnt as bright the second time, heavier, sedimented, and not as refreshing. still delicious, but i much preferred the bottled version...