Collective Project: IPA No. 18
Collective Arts Brewing

 

On draft at Brew Bank Topeka. Poured out a clear, golden amber color with a small, off-white head of foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of coconut, sweet lime, citrus notes and caramel. Sweet key lime flavor with coconut notes and toasted caramel. Mild bitterness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance - Pours a hazy apricot with two fingers of frothy white head that quickly dissipates.

Smell - coconut, citrus and tropical hops, lime, hint of sourness, hint of grapefruit peel, bready malts, and earthy yeast.

Taste - bold coconut and lime upfront. The citrus and tropical hops follow suit. This beer is kind of like a sour IPA meets a sour. The hint of grapefruit peel, bready malts, and earthy yeast round out the brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes tart and sticky with the coconut and lime lingering.

Overall - An interesting venture that blends coconut and lime together. This beer is all over the map; one moment it wants to be a sour IPA then the next it displays elements of a sour. To me, this is one of those experimental IPA's that just didn't execute well in the taste. Ah well, there's always IPA No. 19.

473 ml can served cold into a tulip. LCBO purchase for $4.75 CDN. Canned August 3, 2021.

Appearance - Pale yellowy / gold / white brew with significant haze and a finger plus of sparkling white head. Pretty good staying power and tiny bits of sediment are visible to the naked eye.

Smell - Sourness all the way. Some lime for sure, light grain but really straining to get any coconut. Actually smells a lot like IPA No. 17.

Taste - Sourness again, plenty of lime. Some bitterness in there but overpowered by the sour. Some sweetness once a few sips in with the coconut nicely placed. It might be too mild, but better than overdone like many other brews that use Sabro hops.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, booze well hidden, carbonation is on point.

Overall - Not really IPA enough to be an IPA, this is more of a sour. I'd be willing to give a pass on this if IPA no. 17 hadn't also been a sour IPA. Missing bitterness. ALso coconut and lime are not sufficiently pronounced to make this clearly a beer about those flavors. Add in the cost, this is one of the more disappointing efforts from the IPA numbered series. Would love for them to go back and revisit No. 1-4 as those were fantastic and weren't given an update like No. 5 was (in the form of IPA No. 15)

Pours a hazy yellow colour, little head. The smell is funky and tart. The taste is bitter and tart, with key lime notes, maybe a bit of coconut, but it’s not overly detectable. Dry, hoppy finish
Sept 7 2021

 

Pours hazy blond with a wispy shortlived head. The aroma is of coconut and tropical hops. The taste is of lactic sourness and some edges of coconut and pineapple, grapefruit hops. The mouthfeel is light with prickly, high carbonation. Light bitterness in the tart finish.

This is a sour, not an IPA. Restrained coconut flavor and pretty good overall, but no IPA is this.

473 mL can from the LCBO; no packaging date and served barely chilled.

Pours a hazy lemon drop yellow colour, briefly supporting half a finger of loose, frothy white head. It wastes away within a minute or two, leaving little of interest behind - a thin collar and light spackling of lacing are all that remain - not what I'd call a looker. I'm getting lime, mandarin orange and passion fruit on the nose, along with hints of cedar, lemon, sour peach and coconut.

Not bad, quite unique, very fruity and somewhat tart - almost drinks like a sour IPA, but it seems to be the key lime giving off that impression, rather than any sort of lacto activity. Lime zest, cantaloupe, mango and lemon, with a fair bit of coconut also coming through, but more towards the back end of the sip. Wheaty, bready pale malt sweetness is a background presence at best, with more coconut, lime and syrupy stone fruit lingering into the aftertaste. Medium-full in body, with middling carbonation levels that add a little bit of spritz to this brew's smooth, slightly fluffy mouthfeel. Not the most drinkable pale ale I've ever had - the lime acidity does get tiring after a while, and I'm not big on coconut in general.

Final Grade: 3.91, a B+. Collective Arts' numbered IPAs have varied in quality over the years - most of them have been pretty good, with a few excellent standouts, as well as a couple of forgettable experiments tossed in to the mix. No.18 is one of the stranger ones so far, but on the whole I like it - very fruity and not very bitter at all, so sort of along the lines of an NEIPA, but not precisely. I love lime and dislike coconut - I guess those two bullet points kind of cancelled each other out, because I see this as a pretty good, if unspectacular beer. I'll pick it up again while it's available, but it's not something I'd want to drink every day.