Apple Of My IPA
Bad Jimmy's Brewing Co.

i was stoked to try this one, for all the fruited ipa types that have come on in recent years, we never see apple. its always tropical fruit and citrus, so as summer turns into fall, this seems like an awesome idea. i thought it would drink more like a beer/cider hybrid, but its definitely still beer first, and quite hoppy too which is nice, not like, an apple blonde ale or something, but really very much an ipa at the core of this. its a touch sweet when i taste it, but a lot of the apple seems to be fermented out of this, at least any sweetness from it, what i taste here is more of a crystal malt sweetness, not a fruity one. the apple is a little tart, a green or under ripe apple tang, nice to lighten up the maltiness a bit, and to set up the hops, which are pretty much all on the finish. i definitely get the autumnal cider aspect of the apple too, more of a red apple vibe here, but without the sweetness its just its essence, kind of neat. i like the hops on here too, enough bitterness for this to be balanced, and some herbal character, without the fruit maybe a pretty old school ipa on its own. it could stand a little more carbonation, this sags where i want it to pop, but there is a cool synergy between the hops and the apples, and this was one unique glass of beer, even if somewhat subtle. a clever fall brew for sure.