Drop Anchor IPA
Salish Sea Brewing Co.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium coppery amber with a two finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of lightly biscuit malt, citrus hops, orange, grapefruit and light mixed fruit. Flavor is mildly biscuit malt, citrus and dank hops, grapefruit, lemon, mixed stone and tropical fruit. Dank, grapefruit bitterness in the finish with a hint of pine. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A somewhat old fashioned North West style IPA that hits all the character of that style, citrus and a little pine as well as some dank notes and some light fruit which has become part of the style. I'm a fan of a bit of biscuit malt flavor in IPAs and I liked this one. It leans a bit more towards dankness and grapefruit than necessary, but enjoyable overall. I tried a taster of the other current IPA they had on tap, which was more modern drier and crisper, but this one was more to my taste. Looked great.

About as close to the perfect IPA as you can get on this planet.

 

 

 

Clean and straight forward. Subtle citrus scent and grapefruit/pine
flavors.

From notes. On tap.

Beautiful looking IPA: thick rich honey gold touching on orange as it intensifies in the center. Mediocre head retention, decent lacing.

Nose is mostly straw. Grains, hay, however else you want to put it. Some minor gumball sweet in there as well.

Grains and hops. The haybales continue, bringing a strong grain presence. Meets with a firmly bitter hop bill from which I can't quite pick out specifics. Indiscriminate. There's a sweet current running underneath it all. Medium body. Finish is long and bitter and lasting. Some good stuff going on overall, but it feels like the mortar is missing; needs... something to bring it all together a little better.

I had this on-tap in a taster glass at the brewery.

Appearance: medium orange hue with a light haze and a light effervescence. Head is a thin layer of ivory foam with a nice lace left on the glass.

Smell: lightly malty aroma with a bit of a citrusy and vegetal hop aroma. It actually works quite well.

Taste: malty with a good level of toast and a citrusy and very earthy hop character. Bitterness is quite strong but smooth for all that. A good IPA.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and a decent creaminess for an IPA.

Overall: I like this beer. It’s a little bit more earthy and dank than I like my IPAs, but there’s a balance here and a smooth bitterness that really appeals to me.