Smack Of Grapefruit IPA
Alaskan Brewing Co.

Some flavors just feel faked and artificial. This was right next to wretched. I did drink over half of it, but could go no further. There are so many better grapefruit inspired IPAs. Sculpin comes to mind.

 

Cloudy amber, good initial head

Bready with slight citrus, and a buttery diacetyl note

Dank, earthy, and buttery. Lacking crispness, very sweet and earthy. Seems a bit off.

Suitable mouthfeel.

Perhaps this is not as fresh as it could be, but struck me as off a bit.

 

A - Pours a lightly hazed amber with a large creamy off white head.

S - Aroma is bready malts, orange peel and grapefruit.

T - The taste is caramel malts, tangerine, mango, orange peel and grapefruit with a piney hop bite in the finish.

M - Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Soft mouthfeel with a crisp dry finish.

O - This is a solid IPA. The citrus is nice and prominent in the flavor with just enough hop bite, very enjoyable.

 

 

Tasted in a Spiegelau IPA glass from a 1 pint 6 gl oz bottle on July 1, 2017.

Picked up a bomber from TW Arrowhead 4-15-17 for $9.99. Best before 060317 but been stored in the beer fridge since purchase.

Beer poured orange with a very nice white head that has some great hang time.

Nose is a very nice combo of bready malts and grapefruit.

Taste is very well balanced between the bready malts and the grapefruit hop and fruit additions. No bitterness or astringency in the finish.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth.

Overall this is a very nice beer that grew on me with each sip. Very well balanced and dangerously drinkable. Even thought the Pilot Series is a bit expensive i pretty much have loved everything the last several years. Would love to see this in a 12 oz format!

Smack of Grapefruit pours a copper color, with a long lasting lacing head. Aroma has lots of grapefruit, and earthy hops. Flavor, is the same, earthy backbone, some hops, a good, not overpowering, grapefruit flavor. Good body and feel. Overall, its a little more on the earthy side, with a nice blend of grapefruit.

Cloudy amber body, white head. Grapefruit, shocker, fills the nose and taste, with caramel malts, hop resin, and in the taste, slight and light passion fruit, lemon, pine, and pear supporting. For a single ipa it really does provide a smack of flavor, a throwback to when grapefruit sculpin blew the beer world's collective mind. Feel has the hops, the fruitiness and malt backbone, very clean and satisfying.

I liked this. It wasn't a great IPA base, but it wasn't bad. It's just the grapefruit was done so subtly and nicely. Slightly sweet, slightly tart and each take has it's own soft grapefruit experience. Looked nice with a classic amber color with a slightly off-white head with decent staying power. Moderate feel enhanced the overall experience. Aroma was a little tight with a too soft aroma and needing a little more hop presence.
I had it only a couple days short of best by date, so I wonder how it would have been fresh, but I"m thinking pretty good based upon trial.

 

Very disappointing. Not a West coast IPA at all, like another reviewer said, more like an east coast IPA. Heavy body with sticky mouthfeel and very sweet.

S: Some grapefruit and hop aromas but really overpowered by the caramel malt aromas.

T: caramel malt, sweet, and some fruity hop flavors.

M: Sticky, heavy mouthfeel. Feels underfermented, almost like a barley wine or Dogfish Head 90 Min.

O: Not worth the $10 for a bomber and I almost dumped the rest to switch to aBale Breaker or Fremont IPA. Alaskan Freeride or Icy Bay IPA is much better than this, so I know they know how to make a dry light bodied IPA - this experiment was not what I was looking for.