Westeez
Alvarado Street Brewery

From 16 oz 2 week old can. Pours a clear golden color with a white head.. Smell is dank and fruity with berries . Taste has white wine note herbal berries and pine . Mouthfeel is bitterd and herbal .

 

 

Can poured into an Alvarado Street Brewery Willi Beecher glass

A: Pours faintly hazy golden yellow with a froth cream white head that slowly settles to a firm layer that hangs around and leaves plenty of thick lacing.

S: Grassy, resinous pine, floral, citrus peel, subtle fruity notes, and lightly toasty biscuity slightly bready malt.

T: Citrus, lemon plus hints of grapefruit and lime, resinous pine, grassy herbal slightly woody notes, a hint of dank Southern Hem diesel, floral, some fruitiness really buried in there, white grape, apricot, gooseberry, papaya, and a touch of melon, slightly toasty biscuity kinda bready malt, with a pretty dry finish.

M: A bit on the lighter side of medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: This one took forever to fully open up, and even after the wait I can't say I'm the biggest fan of what's there. Looks like they changed the hop combo from Nelson, Southern Cross, and Mosaic to just Nelson and Motueka for 2022. You could have told me it was Centennial and Mosaic and I probably would have believed it. Overall it's not a bad Westy, it's pretty crisp and crushable, but it doesn't really bring that special Southern Hemisphere quality I was hoping for from those hops. Maybe this was just a kinda "meh" batch.

2024 Revisit: Another hop change!

A: Pours golden yellow with a frothy cream white head that settles to a firm layer and laces quite nicely.

S: Zesty citrus, resinous pine, green grassy notes, underlying exotic, tropical, and stone fruit, faint Southern Hem diesel, and slightly bready biscuity malt, with a fairly dry finish.

T: Zesty citrus, grapefruit, lemon, and lime, green grassy notes, resinous pine, underlying exotic, tropical, and stone fruit, gooseberry, apricot, pineapple, white grape, passion fruit, and a hint of papaya, floral notes, faint Southern Hem diesel, biscuity slightly bready malt, and a fairly dry finish.

M: Medium body, moderate carbonation, crisp.

O: I'm liking this one a lot more than the last time I had it. Something about this new formulation let's everything come together a bit cleaner. It's a proper Westy with some nice Southern Hem flair. Glad I gave it another shot.

 

 

Sweet and crisp, white wine grape and hint of piney dank nose on this one! Taste follows well, but the taste is a bit muted compared to the nose. This has nice depth and mouthfeel for a single...this is good!

 

Can from Lupulo Santa Cruz. Roughly 2 wks old. Inscribed “WC is alive and well”
Look: fairly light clear yellow, minimal head.
Smell: Dank, grass, lemons, nectarines.
Taste: Really all the same as smells. Some vanilla yeasty flavors. Pretty mild bitterness though.
Feel: pretty slick and dry. A little too slick and saliva-like for my preference.
Overall: solid ipa. I guess it’s wcipa, but softer in the bitter department than traditional.

The “Sauvin and Southern Cross, with a touch of Mosaic” hops temper the Nelson perfectly to deliver a satisfying overall pine and mildly flowery taste with perfectly dry finish. A bit pricey for a 4 pack but definitely worth a try.

L: coppery straw yellow with slightly unfiltered appearance. 2 fingers of a dense, white cap formed from the pour. Lacing is very pleasing, represented in sheets of sudsy blotches that coat the edge of the glass. Looks fantastic.
S: Mosaic is strongly represented on the nose, with a fresh bundle of mixed berry hitting the nose in pleasing waves. Lemon, grapefruit and tangerine trail behind with a slightly bready malt aroma subdued behind the fruit flavor. Not picking up on much Nelson or Southern Cross, but boy did Mosaic show up to the party.
T: Really great, again reaffirming my fondness of mosaic-hopped WCIPAs. Fruity initially with a citrusy earthy finish. Mild malt backbone that carries over to the aftertaste with lemongrassy and melon flavor. Hop profile is moderate and balances out the fruity flavor.
F: Medium in body and in weight. Carbonation is right on the money without being over/under done. No booze, great feel.
O: Tastes like a new-age WCIPA, finding a nice balance between fruity hop character with a classic WCIPA malt foundation and finish. Overall, the more I drink of it, the more I like it. I am very glad to try, and would drink again. Cheers!

 

 

 

 

Formal review to come later. There's plenty of Nelson deliciousness in there. Nose doesn't get dynamic until it warms. Wee bit of haze for a West Coast IPA. Loved the beer!