Center of the Universe
Pontoon Brewing Company

 

 

 

How can someone say $3.99 is too much to pay for 16 ounces of a 10% IPA? Why compare this beer to one made by a billion dollar brewery? Whatever man. This is a good beer. Not boozy at all and pleasant malts with enough hop to pull it away from sweet. If I'm cool with paying $16 for a 4 pack, there is something individual and authentic about it. Don't be persuaded by those that would have you believe a beer isn't good unless it's better than some other beer. CotU is a speck in the sky of beers that burns brighter than most.

 

 

16 fl oz pull tab can/$3.99 USD plus tax at a beer store in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Collaboration with Good Word Brewing. "Triple IPA." 10% ABV. "with galaxy, citra, and mosaic hops."

A: Off-white ~6-7cm height head. Murky dull copper body. Not much to look at, but the ~8 minute head retention is impressive given its monstrous ABV.

Sm: Muted, especially considering they bill it as a Triple (i.e. Imperial) IPA. Floral hops, vague citrus, indistinct fruit. 2-row/pale malt. That's all I find and it's not particularly pungent or evocative.

Suggests an IIPA that isn't all that hoppy.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Peach, passionfruit, vague citrus, floral hop flavour, some tropical fruit but not too much. Yeah, it's a bit warm but it's not as boozy as I feared coming in. Hop profile is underwhelming (Mosaic is largely wasted...no blueberry; Citra isn't as well executed as it could be) but it's pleasant enough to drink despite its 10% ABV.

Lacks the hop pungency and depth of hop flavour I'd expect in a proper IIPA. But I've had expressions of the style with less balance and it's not unpleasant to drink. Pale malt addresses what little hop bitterness there is, but it does finish a biteen bitter and warmly alcoholic, which is its biggest fault.

Smooth, wet, full-bodied, heavy on the palate, well carbonated. Not syrupy, but it's on the thicker side.

OVERALL: I mean I can't say I'd buy it again and it's not a great IIPA. Lagunitas' Lagunitas Sucks is a far better beer with far wider distribution and it's a hell of a lot cheaper. But this isn't the boozy mess it could have been and there aren't any faults. Even something like Deschutes' Fresh Squeezed showcases Citra & Mosaic better (and that's merely an IPA), but this does a decent job at showcasing Galaxy hops. An underwhelming beer and not one I'd recommend to anyone, but it's not bad.

High C / AVERAGE