No Bad Days
Barrel Mountain Brewing

Fresh hopped on tap, I really like the fresh hopped beers. Nice hop flavor without the bitter finish. Citrusy/floral flavor, very drinkable. Nice golden color with a good creamy head and nice crispness. Very good beer. 55 IBUs Rated 10-25-2018

 

Good but not a favortie

 

 

12oz canned on (I think) 082823. Served ice cold in a pint glass. Neutral amber, not quite clear, thin head. Aroma has a bit of crystal malt going on. Flavor has an old school, West coast IPA vibe. Enjoyable, but I need to come back to this when my palate is better or the beer is not so cold.

 

When you spend two months on the road visiting National Parks and passing through National Forests, a beer like this sticks out among the crowd. That was the case when I saw this at the Total Wine in Puyallup, Washington a few months back and given that I never had anything from Barren Mountain before, this was a no-brainer to review. While this wasn't bad, this turned out to be a textbook American IPA that checked off all of the proverbial boxes without breaking any new ground at the same time.

As to be expected this poured gold with a bit of dark sediment floating around in the liquid. Plenty hazy and topped off with enough head upon pouring, this left hardly any lacing behind as most of it was concentrated in the middle of my glass. Straightforward citrus tang and pine in the nose with a bit of caramel, lemon, pineapple dankness, and floral notes on the palate. Lots of Cascade and Chinook here as this has an old-school left coast feel to it while being easily drinkable, balanced, and lightly carbonated.

This had a persistent bitterness to it and would fit in well with the outdoors, although I wish the amount of alcohol was toned down a bit. Canned on 5/9 of last year, it would have been great to get this fresher although I'm not sure how much of a difference it would have made. Nice label design for a nice, basic IPA that was fitting for it's neck of the woods - no pun intended!

 

Pale gold color clear with a thin head. Average flavor malt up front with mild hop bitterness.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a light to medium golden amber with a fine, two finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, citrus and lightly piney hops with a hint of dankness, light stone fruit. Flavor is pale and lightly biscuit malt with a suggestion of caramel, citrus, floral and piney hops, mixed citrus and tropical fruit; moderately bitter piney and citrus finish. Medium bodied with light creaminess. I was slightly disappointed in my first sip to not have as much caramel in the malt flavor as the aroma, but quickly changed to whoa, this is quite flavorful. There is a slightly sweet, floral flavor that develops mid taste that is near perfection. Hop bitterness is not aggressive, but quite satisfactory, leaving a good lingering, nearly resinous pine finish with residual citrus. Balanced and just plain enjoyable. I liked this one's bigger brother, Trail Builder when I tried it a few years ago and was pleased to see a few cans show up in my local area. These guys are doing a great job with the IPAs and I will definitely look at their other styles. Good stuff.