Winter IPA
Faction Brewing

 

 

Wait, is this the same ipa released in each of the 4 seasons under a different packaging? Eh, if it don't make $ it don't make sense.

So you got this sticker on the can that shows a hop w icesicles and wintery shit on it. Ok. Anyways, golden pour, looks like it has ample clarity. Good. 1/3" white head. The aroma wasn't much beyond a light dosing of Citra hops. Light orange.

Simcoe puts the wintergreen in this winter ipa. More bittering hop than Citra. Winterfrosted pine trees all over the place. IBU range seems about 65. Takes on a copper vibe after the pine. Alcohol seems to boost the burn. It wasn't malty per se, it did stick around. Its a west coast ipa that has some fancy malt boasting, but doesn't really come off any different than 2 row.

In terms of what California ipas can bring to the table, this is nothing special, but its good enough to get the job done.

Picked this up at a Whole Foods in San Francisco when I was out there recently, as I never had anything from Faction before. This looked interesting and it was as this was an enjoyable and hearty IPA that would be just as good in the dead of winter as it was on a cool summer night such as this one. Indeed, this was nicely versatile!

This had a rich and deep copper hue to it as it was topped off with a full head that settled slowly. Only a thick ring of lacing remained in the middle as I worked my way through this as there was some additional soapy suds near the bottom of my pint glass. Pine, resin, deep and floral citrus, leather, and white chocolate were all in the nose as the taste was just a varied and full of lovely depth. The Carabohemian Malt gave this a nice fullness and a new flavor as this was a bit unfamiliar to me while being completely alluring because of the strong hop presence and subtle burn in the back that easily left me wanting more.

Sure, this was a bit strong but the alcohol was on par with everything else going on here as the heft complemented the deep orange, dank pine, weed, and chocolate quite nicely. Canned on 1/24 with "TAG US @FACTIONBREWING" written above it, this held up well and combined the best aspects of Humboldt and Sierra Nevada while being a true California brew. While being a winter seasonal, this should be a year-round offering since it's just that darned enjoyable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at CBC 2016. Golden pour with a white head. Citrus and tropical fruit.

 

 

 

Had this on tap the other day at the Starry Plough in Berkeley. I got it not expecting much, but I was pleasantly BLOWN AWAY! This is one of the best IPA's I have ever had in my life. I can describe it as Robust, and beautiful in color. Hoppy, but not in an out of balance way, mouth feel is wonderful, resiny, I want more of this!