Chupacabrew V1
Radium City Brewing

2oz Bottle
$6.49
Westside Liquors - Morris, IL

Chupacabrew V1 is a damn fine looking beverage. Brightly polished 24kt gold, the body is. There's near perfect clarity which helps accentuate that polished appearance. The clean white foam reaches a finger in height on an easy pour before slowly falling to a thick cap that sticks around for the whole show. Spotty lacing is left behind, clinging to the glass here and there.

Good nose on this beer. There's a lot of Mosaic going on in there. Big notes of dank forest lead the way with a good dose of blueberries close behind. There's a note of that crushed aspirin bitterness behind the Mosaic. Tropical notes are unspecified and subtle while Orange and lemon bring up the rear. I'm a fan of the malt base, it's simply grainy. Clean, freshly cracked grains. Nice.

The flavor runs parallel to the nose. The Mosaic kicks it off again with dank, damp forest. There's a solid pine note in the middle with that fruit basket of tropicals. Crushed aspirin bitterness cuts a swath before being met by orange peel and a squeeze of lemon on the finish. Again, the grainy malt bill is to my liking. It's simple, clean and fresh without the sweetness found in most IPAs these days.

The body is light and airy. It's all at once soft but also nearly prickly without actually getting there. The bitterness is stout from the second it hits your tongue until the dry finish makes it even more pronounced. This is a punisher with each drink but the bitterness fades after the swallow, it doesn't build upon itself until you're ruined, which boosts the drinkability.

Chupacabrew V1 is a good drink. It's bright and bitter. In the West Coast style, which is what I prefer. It's clean and well made all around. I'm going to head back in the next few days and pick up a couple more of these.