From The Top
Ocelot Brewing Company

A lot like From The Bottom. A little catty, but otherwise clean and crisp. Not bad, but not their best IPA.

Pours a mildly chill-hazed straw color. The head is two fingers high and white in shade. Retention is quite good

This offers an unusual and frankly interesting nose. There's some pine lurking around, along with some tangerine and berry. The overarching aromatic quality seems to be dankness - not necessarily Mosaic-esque scallion (but it hints there occasionally), rather big, weedy dankness. Malts? Uh...they're present, I guess. Like I said, interesting, though not particularly amazing.

Now THIS tastes unusual. Sure, it opens up with a fairly powerful pine bitterness, only to switch over to a subtle berry note near the middle and back end. Some finishing onion flavors appear, hinting towards Mosaic hops. But mostly, it's all about resinous goodness. Oh yeah, there's some light malt, I think. Despite the bitter bite, something's egging me on to keep sipping it. Maybe it's the gentle tropical fruit lurking around? Whatever, this works.

Dry, dry, dry. You want a cottonmouth sensation? This IPA brings it in spades. The texture is quite light, making so damn drinkable. Not delicate, not subtle, just something genuinely easygoing. Carbonation takes a back seat to the massive dryness.

Watch Me Disappear this is not. But it's easy drinking, and a nice table beer (so it's 7.2%, big whoop) that works better than it really should. If Watch Me Disappear could be compared to Zombie Dust, this could be compared to Stone IPA - resinous and biting, but enjoyable and easy to throw down. Yet another worthy Ocelot offering.

3.66/5: Ocelot is still the king of Virginia IPAs

 

 

 

 

 

This seems to be a polarizing beer, but I love it. Others don't seem to as much.

From a growler filled earlier tonight from a just-tapped keg, beer pours a very slightly hazy, light straw-gold, with a big, white creamy 2+ finger head that lasts. Even at the last sip there's at least a quarter-inch going. As much sticky lacing as I've ever seen. Really good-looking beer.

The initial smell consists of one thing: dank, in huge quantities. After a few moments some ripe tropical fruit comes in, along with grass (the non-dank kind), a hint of orange/citrus and little bits of what smells like chocolate or even coffee. Also a peppery/spicy quality that I can't put my finger on. But mostly high-quality, resinous dank.

First sip is the same, like I'd stuffed a dime bag in my mouth. Ripe fruit flavors are next, before a huge pine resin finish comes in that is dry and super bitter but not astringent or in any way unpleasant. In fact, the lingering bitter finish is a big selling point for me with this beer. Very little in the way of malt, but still just a hint of sweetness.

This beer avoids an issue that I don't like about a lot of malt-light IPAs, which is a watery feel in the middle before the dry finish, but this beer doesn't really have a middle, it goes straight to the huge pine resin finish, and I for one like it a lot. Yet it's smooth and massively drinkable.

Overall this is a great IPA, but definitely different from anything I've had from Ocelot or anywhere else for that matter.

 

I admit I have tried other Ocelot offerings on tap at this sitting, but this one leaves me a little flat by comparison. For a brewery that tries to minimize malt to the minimum in favor of out - front hops, sometimes the malt may disappear altogether. This tastes like a light - beer IPA. Good citrus and pine but little resin and very light malt. Respectable, but not one I would pick over other Ocelot offerings. You can't hit a home run every time at bat.

On tap at local Whole Foods. Looks paler than expected. Smells is good but not that strong. Taste follows in that I like it but expected more. Mouthfeel is just ok.

 

 

On tap at the source. The IPA version of their From the Bottom IPL, it's slightly clearer, but maintains the same sturdy head. The melon, white wine, and gooseberry notes from the IPL are still present, but are smoother thanks to the slight fruitiness of the ale yeast.