Sapsucker
Little Spokane Brewing Company

i thought from the name that this might be a maple beer of sorts, even a sap beer, but i had to settle for a very good big ipa instead. its amarillo and citra, and its not quite clear, a light rusty orange color to it and a fast settling head from the tap at steel barrel, which serves as their taproom at their incubator brewery space. the aroma is bold and sticky on it, with a definite pine sappy character, which i generally dont really know from these hops, i also get orange essence, some lemongrass, and even some pineapple, quite complex for just two hops that i know for other characteristics than these. the malt bill seems quite light here, pale two row and a little pinch of some medium crystal could be all, the body is light for the style, there is very little residual sweetness in this, and it tastes just sort of simple and basic, all in service of the hops of course. notes of mango and peach in here with the citrus and pine, a little bit of bitterness but really modest there, and some west coast sort of oiliness in the feel which beefs it up just a little bit. i get a trace amount of the alcohol here too as it warms, but thats pretty well under control. a neat beer overall, with a little more drinkability than a lot of its peers, and showing a little different side of a couple of hops i thought i knew pretty well...