Bandit Run
Westbound & Down Brewing Company

collaboration with grand fir, and the best fresh hop beer ive had all year, not even close, done with mosaic from coleman i believe, borderline unforgettable, on tap at the westbound spot downtown denver. these guys recently took home a ton of gabf medals and even won brewery of the year for their size this year, which based on the few of their beers i had while i was in town, seems plenty well deserved. it also seems like somewhat of an inside job to an outsider, like with all the great ipa in the world that its been all westbound and down lately winning medals in that space seems more than coincidence, and we know nobody campaigns harder for themselves than these guys, borders on flagrant arrogance, and that the brewers association has a unique moral history and is as desperate as can be right now, but whatever, good for them, and this beer is as good as it gets, so maybe its all just happenstance right? the cream rises and this is certainly cream. pale and modern looking without being perfectly clear in the glass, airy inch and a half of white head on it, peppy carbonation, looks pretty light but the smell fills a pretty large room, so pungent its unbelievable, like it has to use hop products with the early start and potency but i dont think it does, high thiol but seemingly not done with engineered yeast, the ferment to me is clean and neutral, but this is blasting off with crushed pineapple, white coconut, partially dried apricot, wildflower honey, and incredibly high end weed, peak freshness, simple grain base, turned up to 11, just killer. the flavor is every bit as good, the purest possible expression of these hops, and way more potency than it seems like anyone else is getting with their fresh hop stuff this year, real biotransformy and bright, jasmine and papaya and yet still dry, sauvignon blanc, daffodil, zested lemon, its amazing, nothing catty at all about it, super clean on the swallow, i cant get enough, high oil but still light to drink, great carbonation, everything a fresh hop beer should be. i had this in close proximity to some big boys in the ipa world, things like double sunshine and a special edition of pliny and all that, and this took them all down. i dont mean to make it sound all negative with their winning and stuff, the beer on its merits is absurdly good, maybe i am just jealous. this is a beer of the year candidate for me, its that good!