Grapefruit IPA
The Spencer Brewery

Awful Everything Spencer makes is awful. No grapefruit anywhere. Just bitter. Too bad for the only Trappist brewery in America.

12 ounce bottle into signature chalice, best before 12/22/2018. Pours fairly hazy/cloudy medium orange/amber color with a 1 finger dense and rocky cream colored head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, red apple, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, caramel, cracker, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. A bit too malty/muddy aromas. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and dark/bready malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, red apple, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, caramel, cracker, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, red apple, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, caramel, cracker, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and dark/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/sticky, and fairly resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 6.5%. Overall this is a very nice fruited English IPA. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/resinous/drying finish, not aggressive. Nice balance of juicy/dank/earthy Citra hops and ruby red grapefruit; with a balanced bready English malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example. Was probably better fresher.

12oz bottle BB 12/22/18 poured into a tulip
A: Translucent brown with a one finger head that quickly settles
S: Tons of grapefruit, a bit of pine and caramel
T: Matches the nose
M: Medium-bodied, bitter
O: Good, lives up to its name but there are more intriguing IPAs out there

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle dated 12/12/18. Pours a hazy ruby grapefruit orange with very little filmy head. Smell is nice, sweet grapefruit with malt and some moderate hops. Taste matches the smell, some grapefruit mixed with moderate malty sweetness and moderately bitter hops. Feel is good, medium body with some carbonation bite and bitter aftertaste. Overall this was a little better than I expected: the grapefruit is at the right level - some sweet fruitiness with some bitterness that complements the choice of hops, bitter but not overpoweringly so, nice aroma and good mouthfeel. Well worth trying, and I think the grapefruit addition does a great job of working with the hops they used.