Peace Train
Ocelot Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

It's been a while since I've had an Ocelot beer. That's been more a result of other beers than a damning of Ocelot's beeer quality. Now, we're back with Peace Train. It pours a cantaloupe orange with off white head. Decent retention. There's a lot of citrus on the nose - tangerine - as well as pineapple and mango. As I sip this, I am quickly realizing that this is not up to the high standards I hold Ocelot. Yes, it is still soft and not in your face like most Ocelot IPAs but there's a bit of underlying vegetal hop character that you simply cannot shake as it stays glued to your palate. Yes, there's some tropical fruit to contrast it, possibly some unripe mango, but the pleasure of those flavors is compromised by that vegetal character. This is a miss from an execution stand point.

CANNED ON 04/22/20. Poured into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint.

A: Hazy lemonade yellow with 2-finger off-white head with good retention and clingy lacing.

S: Strongest hop aromas are tangerine, lemon, pineapple and peach. There is a bit of sickly sweet overripe fruit smell as it warms. Aroma intensity overall is moderate for the style.

T: The flavor is solid but not too distinctive -- mainly candied peach, tangerine, pineapple, and lemon in the finish. Lots of fruity esters and low bitterness with no alcohol character. Flavor intensity is also moderate, probably a bit higher than the aroma with plenty of sweetness in the finish.

M: Feel is on target with soft, medium body and low-medium carbonation.

O: Good representation of the style but not really providing a lot of unique features.

T

 

Poured from from a 16 oz can dated 4/22/20 into a Willi Becher pint glass.
L - Pours a hazy yellow color with a frothy white head.
S - Smell of tropical fruits.
T - Tastes matches the smell, lots of tropical fruits.
F - Medium body and carbonation.
O - Very tasty IPA

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a pint glass. Had a yellowish color and a cloudy consistency. There was a 3/4", foamy, somewhat long-lasting head. Excellent lacing.

S: A very good aroma of hops, citrus fruit, malt, and tropical fruit.

T: Tasted of a hint of malt (mostly in the finish; not a big factor), a good amount of tropical fruit (mango, in particular), some hops (subtle; certainly not overdone), and some citrus fruit as well (orange, grapefruit). A sweet, subtle, and focused flavor. It's definitely fruit-centric, but obnoxiously so; it has just enough hops to make things interesting. Pretty tasty.

F: A decent amount of carbonation with a smooth and creamy finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A solidly made, easy to drink beer. Worth a try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can from 12/12/18 release. Poured into Belgian tulip.
Look is very pale gold with a white head. Nose is peach, orange, mango. Taste follows similarly with the orange showing up as more rind, bit of bitterness at the end, some bready and oaty stuff going on in the end too, lingering fruit. Mouthfeel is medium thick, fluffy feeling. Overall solid DIPA. Nothing crazy, personally enjoy the bready oaty stuff coming through with the hops. Good stuff.

On tap:
Ok, I’m guessing this is fairly fresh given the huge blast of Citra (mainly) and hoppiness in general coming from this.

A cloudy, dull, yellow-orange body with a loosely connected soapy head/surface foam. Lacing is surprisingly god, though.

Nose of orange and tangerine slices, peel included, with a hint of tropical fruits (also with rind). A nice raw bitterness of the Citra comes through, as well as a little grape leave note.

Taste follows suit with a little more sweetness than I’d like up front. I didn’t notice it at first, but it made itself more noticeable. It’s far from erasing the good points, though it does add a little more to the tropical notes, in my mind.

Not as smooth or creamy or full as other NE IPAs, there’s actually a subdued effervescence to this beer.

Love the hop pop on this, and this could be a real winner if that holds up in a can.