Tropical Thunder IPA
Brock Street Brewing Company

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, from their boxset at my favourite LCBO at The Roundhouse Centre in nearby Windsor. My first beer from the Whitby, ON brewery.

Review from notes. Served cold into a pint glass.

Appearance - Hazy yellowy/ gold brew with a couple fingers of fluffy white head with modest retention.

Smell - Generally citrus, although hard to identify specific fruits. Pineapple and passionfruit seem like two of the most likely candidates.

Taste - the flavors all flow together in a generally citrusy flavor, with some but not too much bitterness, elements of grapefruit, pineapple and passionfruit are there with a splash of mango too. Wheat backbone. A touch of booziness and at times maybe too sweet.

Mouthfeel - Medium-high carbonation. Semi-juicy finish. Everything about right for an IPA.

Overall - Solid beer, but just a little muddled, which comes out in this review as having the brew be solid, but unremarkable in any way. Worth a try, but there are better options available.

473 mL can from the LCBO; coded 003 3005 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a foggy golden-orange colour, producing roughly two fingers of soapy, foamy white head that recedes at a steady pace. A little under five minutes later, it has been reduced to a frothy, sudsy collar and thin cap; a modest smattering of messy, spotty lace clings to the glass. Subdued aromas of lemony citrus peel, indeterminate tropical fruit and grassy hops.

My first impression: it's really overcarbonated, which is a continuing nuisance. Beyond that, muted flavours of lemon peel, grapefruit and honeydew melon rind develop, followed by grassy, lemony hops and mild pithy bitterness on the back end. Faint suggestions of mango and melon in the aftertaste, which trends off-dry. Light-medium in body, with harsh, biting carbonation that scrubs the palate with each sip, remaining relentlessly prickly & sharp right down to the last few gulps. Closer to 'tolerable' than 'drinkable'.

[Updated Jul 10 2024]

This can was from a Brock Street mixed pack purchased at the LCBO; served at cellar temperature. It has a ridiculous head that leaves behind gobs of lacing, but it's not nearly as overcarbonated as last time - serving it warm probably makes for quicker outgassing. For the first few sips, I felt like I was drinking a Belgian IPA, and indeed this brew does have some of those grassy, spicy, herbal hop notes that I associate with that style. I dunno, maybe I was in a bad mood when I first reviewed this, or maybe they've tweaked the recipe - I actually kind of like this, and feel like the grade I gave it last time doesn't reflect its quality. I'm bumping its grade, and am willing to give it another shot, based on this serving.

Final Grade: 3.5, a B grade

Dec 6 2024

I bought a can at the LCBO in Ontario 473ml at 6.4%
Poured into glass with 1finger head leaving a lace as you drink it lots of tropical fruit flavours well balanced with a very low bitterness level making it very easy to drink and enjoying it .
Cheers.
After an extensive "Pilot IPA project involving all four of our brewers and through testing and tasting of many different style IPA s Brock Street brewing is proud to showcase our Tropical Thunder IPA.
The most refreshing street in Canada
It said on the can .
Overall a great beer would definitely buy it again
Cheers