Currently Trending Cold IPA
AleSmith Brewing Company

Picked up a six pack of pint cans. Date on cans: 02/15/2024. Aptly named.

Pours a crystal clear golden color with hints of copper and a foamy finger-thick head on top with fairly poor retention. There's a bit of lacing on the glass as you drink, but it mostly slides down to meet the beer. Carbonation is almost non existent, unless you swish the beer around a bit. I like that. The color is spot on for the style. Otherwise, I must say it looks a bit meh, but perhaps refreshing for it's ABV.

The hops hit you hard in the aroma with tropical fruits like guava, stone fruits like apples and pears and a splash of fresh pine needles to round it out. A touch herbal/sour. The malts lend a tiny bit of sweetness in the background.

Taste follows the aroma well. Lots of tropical fruitiness, citrus and pine resin with a bit of hop spice towards the swallow. The can has plenty of info about the hops, but nothing about malts. I can see why, they almost feel like an afterthought here, which is a shame since I love pilsner malts, which a lot of cold IPAs feature. Really quite hard to distinguish any flavors malt-wise, maybe a tiny hint of butteriness. Aftertaste is mostly lemon rind and pine resin.

This is medium bodied with a bit of zest on the swallow. Drinks crisp and clean for the ABV and hop-forwardness. It is still slightly palate wrecking as the hop oils do stick around on the tongue a bit after the swallow, but it's not as bad as your typical hop-forward IPA. I'd say it's a touch thin overall. It's got some syrupy qualities from the hop oils but doesn't have much creaminess or chewiness. It is overall easier to drink for it's ABV, if perhaps a bit acidic.

I've had a lot of good stuff from this brewery so I always give them the benefit of the doubt when I see new stuff. This one is good, but not exactly what I crave from a cold IPA. It does have the crispness, but it lacks balance which tilts it a bit into bitter/acidic territory, and, for me at least, keeps it from being truly refreshing. It is a nice showcase of the hop profile, however, if you're into that thing. Probably wouldn't get this again. Cheers!

 

A-Clear blond yellow
S-Dry champagne aroma of green grape
M-Medium to high carbonation with a watery body and peppery mouthfeel
T-Green grapes and champagne flavour with a dry snap
O-Not for me

Pours a light gold with some head that dissipates pretty quick. The smell is citrus, pine,, and herbal hops. The taste is light, crisp, refreshing as per the style. Also some pine, hints of citrus, maybe mango and guava, and bittering hops. It leaves a nice little sting on your tongue but is very slammable and is a fine version of this style and might have to go back for more, cheers!