Your Silhouette Was A Lot Better Looking Than You Are
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

473 mL can from the brewery; no canning date. Served barely chilled.

Pours a deep, clear copper colour, taking on more of a crimson red hue when held to the light. It's topped with two fingers of bumpy, foamy, off white-coloured head that proves fairly resilient; a little over five minutes later, a messy coat of lace clings to the perimeter, with a creamy collar and thin cap lingering on the surface. Both malts and hops make their presence known on the nose: I'm getting toasted bread, caramel and dried fruits, as well as grapefruit, orange peel, pine resin and floral, spicy hops.

A robust red IPA with a decidedly West Coast hop profile. I'm tasting toasted malts, caramelized sugars and bready, biscuity sweetness, contrasted by citrusy hop flavours of grapefruit, orange and lemon peel. Increasingly hoppy on the back end, with spicy, earthy, herbal hops, dried fruits and pine resin bitterness asserting themselves at the finish. Bittersweet conclusion with hints of candied citrus peel and biscuity malts fading into a slightly warming aftertaste. Medium-full in body, with average carbonation that adds some prickliness to this red IPA's smooth, pleasing mouthfeel. Surprisingly drinkable for 7% - I could go for another.

Final Grade: 4.04, an impressive A-. I think Your Silhouette is in the running for the best Refined Fool brew of 2026. Obviously there's still seven months to go, and who knows what else they've got brewing in those tanks - but I'm confident that this will still be near the top of my list by year's end. The interplay between the rich malt flavours and the American hops is just superb - maybe not the most novel red IPA you'll ever imbibe, but absolutely worth a try. If they made this a seasonal offering, I'd buy it in bulk.