West Coast Potato
Bear Island Brewing Company

i believe they are making a west coast style and a hazy version of their idaho potato ale, an ipa done with local potatoes, a neat idea, but this taste to me pretty similar to the original, not as brightened and bittered up as i thought it would be. its still got kind of a reddish hue to it, a frothy just off white head with nice retention and lace, and is almost clear but not quite perfectly so. it smells and taste pretty malt driven for an ipa, a little bit old school, just like the original, and this has me thinking they could be the same beer under different names, or close to it anyway from a recipe standpoint, i was hoping they would lighten up the grain some in this west coast version. the bitterness is moderate but it stands out in contrast to the richer, slightly toasty grain, and because there really isnt all that much hop flavor here, just sort of higher alpha and a little generic to me, fresh as it is. i like the oily feel from the hops and the fuller texture of the beer overall, but this didnt jump out at me the way i hoped it would, and even though its unique because there are potatoes in it, its really not very unique to drink. hoping to try an east coast version soon, but i had higher hopes for this. still tasty, just unremarkable, especially for bear island...