Checkmate Chuck
Fort Hill Brewery

 

This has got to be one of the best "cheap" IPAs around.

 

 

I really like this brewery. Cloudy golden color, excellent head retention.
Best to drink this beer warmer starting at 48°
Pine, citrus aroma.
Just right MF. Not quite syrupy, but full enough for the style.…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hard to rate it ahead of JAZZ or FRESH HOP. But not bad.

Very excited to see new Fort Hill IPAs hitting the market. In my opinion, these guys are one of the most slept-on breweries in New England, operating almost totally under-the-radar yet producing mighty-fine, tasty and well-made IPAs at a very cheap price point. I picked up a few cans of this when at my local Craft Beer Cellar today, so let's get right into it!

Pours a pretty hazy deep goldenrod color with some orange-ness coming through if held up to light. A voluminous and thick head of bone-white foam caps this one off, lasting for about three to four minutes before it settles down to a small-ish, three-quarter-finger ring. The intense suds leave behind some splotches of lace but not too much retention really happens here unfortunately. As I drink, I can get the sense that it's got a little bit of legs to it, but not much. Kind of disappointing, but I do love the color and lack of clarity here; that part is really attractive. I'd like to see some stickier, tiered lace like in their other DIPA, Jigsaw Jazz. Interestingly enough, revisiting my review for that beer from just about a year ago, it seems I disliked the color and (lack of) clarity but appreciated the lace, making this somewhat of a mirror image of that beer upon first impression.

The nose here is redolent of sticky pine resin and sap, combined with a little bijt of spruce tip herbalness, guava and grapefruit rind. A little bit of Pine-Sol cleaning solution here too, but not in an offensive or "chemical"-esque way; it's just that intense! I get a bit of ripe tangerine and mango here as well, giving this kind of an old-school-meets-new-school IPA vibe. Interesting stuff! There's a tiny bit of biscuity malt behind the initial veil of hoppiness, as well, which I appreciate these days.

Flavor profile really comes across similarly to the initial few sniffs did: I get a huge wave of pine resin and grapefruit along with some lighter notes of tropical fruit and anonymous citrus. A little bit grassier than expected toward the finish, with a really velvety malt profile. Feels like Golden Promise malt to me, but I could definitely be wrong. It has that semi-sweet kind of flavor to it, though, that bespeaks a balanced grain bill along with a rather clean fermentation. The finish is dry and lightly-grainy with a prolonged bitterness that props up aspiring-like, chalky yeast and more pine/spruce needle aspects. Low-ish carbonation and a soft, medium-bodied feel that doesn't drink a hair above 6-6.5%. Well done once again, Fort Hill!

 

A beautiful lemon glow with a tall puffy head of 3 fingers with lace left reaming the sides.

Aroma is of freshly peeled orange on a napkin. What follows in the background is a nice balance of pine and grapefruit.

Flavor comes off in a bitter fashion but not overly so. Some weighty, sharp pine with hop resins open up. Bitter grapefruit follows, mellowing out to a sweet orange. Lots of crisp malt going on as well, more felt than tasted.

Feel is crisp and clean with lingering resins. Light bodied. Nicely drinking.

Overall, even for a double IPA this drinks like a session. Normally I'd deduct points for that but it's really enjoyable to drink. I'm sure that ABV will sneak up on me in the coming minutes. Not Fort Hill's best offering, but they still manage to make a fine beer with 'Chuck.