Wind Forge IPA
12 Gates Brewing Company

A giant, creamy, white foam holds for a while, eventually settling to one inch and leaving thick, dense patches of lace on a Spieglau IIPA glass. The golden beer (SRM 4-6) is opaque to transluscent, with sunset sherbert orange highlights.

Fresh tangerine and mango lead the aroma, followed by pine notes. The aroma is well done, though lacking the complexity I expect from this style.

Bitterness is dominant, just shy of the numbing and enamel-etching often found in this style. Sweetness, while high, is no match for the bitterness. On one hand, the flavors evoke the NEIPA attributes, and on the other, it is clearly more suited to the AIPA East Coast variant. The long, mild finish is dry and bitter. Warmth gives the tangerine and mango a more juicy and fruity quality.

Moderately high astringency helps give the texture of nylon in this otherwise full-bodied beer. Alcohol is as expected and carbonation coats the palate.

This is certainly a good beer and easily understood as an IPA. I enjoyed the first two cans more than the third, which is easily understandable, due to the effects of a couple of weeks of age. I am thinking that a fresh can would pair well with macaroni and cheese made with Grueyere.