Advent Beers - West Coast IPA
Minhas Craft Brewery

Somewhat opaque light brown color. Medium body, some sediment. Caramel flavor followed by pine hops. Not super hoppy but good amount. That was actually decent.

 

12 oz can served in a Belgian snifter.

The clear, dark copper colored body suggests a substantial load of darker malts than usually found in this style. Both the aroma and the flavor are consistent with this impression. There's little in the way of citrus notes and the bitterness is very mild for the style. It's actually the best of the 20 or so 2022 Minhas Advent beers I've tried so far, but it is off style.

Appearance: The body is hazy orange brown, surmounted by a small, but quite persistent, fine-beaded off-white head. The lacing is thick and glass-coating. Fine beaded streams of carbonation drift lazily across the glass wall beneath the surface.


Aroma: Strong notes of sweet caramel and pine dominate the aroma, though there is a little grapefruit rind, also.

Taste: On tasting, as with the aroma, there is a strong presence of sweet caramel and pine hops, and again, grapefruit rind. Midway through the taste, the caramel is at its most prominent. As the taste draws to a close, pine and grapefruit rind vie for dominance, with the caramel remaining a pleasant undercurrent to the end of the taste.
Mouth feel: Smooth, quite full, with a feel similar to whole milk.

Drinkability/notes: A pleasant example, especially considering the economies required for a beer Advent calendar.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twelve-ounce aluminum can, served in a LA Fin du Monde tulip. Beer number five from the Sam's Club Beer Advent calendar.

Slightly hazy dark amber color with a decent foamy off white head and some decent lacing.
The aroma is sweet caramel malt with some citrus and pine notes.
The taste is also mainly sweet caramel malt and cardboard. The finish drys out a bit with some lingering grapefruit and pine resin.
The body is medium, moderate carbonation.
Altogether, this is a decent brew but a bit off of expectations for a west coast IPA, too sweet, low bitterness and some off flavor notes.

Poured From a 12oz Can

On the pour 2 fingers of off white head formed. The body is amber, and a bit more clear than the "American IPA" but still slightly hazy. Again lacing is left. Decent retention.

Aroma has that sweet malty and yeasaty aroma ive grown accustomed to through the 3 beers I've had outta this pack. The hops do have some actual resinous notes and some citrusy pine in the aroma, but not pleasant and syrupy.

Taste similar to the american IPA is overly sweet and malty but the off flavors have died down a bit. There is an actual hop bitterness here that actually balances things a bit. Not very nuanced.

Feel is too big for the style.There isn't any crispness and it's getting to the thickness of a NEIPA. Finish is long and syrupy.

Overall either the beers are getting better or I'm getting down to their level. Not bad in the same way as AALs which I seem to have aquired a taste for... Maybe the same thing is happening here?