Boreal Spruce IPA
Winding Path Brewing Co / Wyndridge Farm Brewing

 

 

Can at the brewery into pint glass. Pours a deep gold, with a nice off-white head. Good lacing. Initial impression is dank pine resin, with a bit of cirys in the background. Mouthfeel is clean and refreshing. Finish is more of the same, gradually morphing to a resinous pine presence. Overall, a very enjoyable if not spectacular West Coast IPA

16 oz. can. Gorgeous off-white head on a light copper body. The taste is a nice great IPA flavor mixed with the piney/spruce element. Refreshing and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Poured into a grip shaped goblet: color is gold, head is off white with a head that is 2+ fingers thick of frothy mixed size bubbles, lingers well with lacing on glass sides.

Aroma is light sweet malt then pleasant spruce and pine.

Taste is similar with light light malt, some caramel, overtaken by hops and spruce with mix of the spruce character and pine hop note, intermixed with citrus pith.

Mouthfeel is low/moderate carbonation, moderate sweetness, moderate bitterness.

Overall a great take on the spruce tip IPA - nice pungent spruce tip aroma and flavor and base beer that allows it to shine.

A thanks to the creator of the canquest, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a muddy river color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of pine, spruce. Taste is the same as the aroma, mild to moderate bitterness. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a pretty good beer.

Boreal Spruce IPA from Winding Path Brewing. Purchased 11/10/20 for $2.86 (Including tax and discount) for 16 oz can ($ 0.179/oz) from State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD. Reviewed 2/1/21.
Undated can. On room temperature shelf at store and stored at home at 42 degrees. Served at 50.5 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 56.8 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale gold (SRM 4), clear.
Body – Deep gold (SRM 6), chill haze. When held to direct light, same.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.5 cm, aggressive center pour), floral white, high density, average retention, diminishing to an eight to fifteen mm jagged crown, and a complete rocky cap. A few islands of lacing remain as the head retracts. Second pour produces a 0.5 cm head.
Lacing – Good. Wide three-dimensional band of mostly tiny bubbles, gradually degenerating to torn curtains.
Aroma – 4 – Initially as aromatic as a fresh-cut spruce, then gradually weakens, no malt, no yeast.
Flavor – 5 – Begins resiny and full of terpenes, like a mouthful of spruce sawdust, no malt, no yeast. No alcohol (7.2 % ABV, as marked on container) found in either nose or taste but a slight transitory gastric warming does occur. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Ends with a slightly bitter resinous flavor.
Palate – 3 – Medium, watery, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 (Minus 0.25 point for undated can) Possibly the best spruce-based IPA I’ve ever had – miles above the recent incarnations of Yard’s – harkens back to the old blue-bottle days sans molasses.

Thanks to OzzyLizard for this one, from a LIF during NBS BIF#12. 16oz can (no date) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a mostly clear (some haze) with 1/4 inch of slightly off-white head that had OK retention and lacing.

As expected, lots of pine (OK, spruce) at the front of the nose. Behind that was some citrus hops, and a nice grain/malt base.

Very similar on the tongue, with a touch of malt sweetness on the finish.

The body was nicely full and rounded, with a blend of bitterness and sweetness that lingered on the finish.

Drinkability was good, this is the type of IPA that would be in my regular rotation if local to me.

Overall, a very solid and very enjoyable brew. Certainly worth your time if you see it.

 

 

Honey-colored pour with white soapy head and delicate lacing. Nose is rather subdued but no doubting the pine and an underlying earthiness. Bright initial burst of pine and spruce. Dank with some strong earth tones. Subtle maltiness. Smooth, easy feel, nice!