Focal Banger India Pale Ale | The Alchemist Brewery and Visitors Center

4.55/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

5/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

4.52/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.27/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.5/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.53/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

4.42/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

4.67/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

4.53/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.58/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.65/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Tasted from can. Pours a hazy yellow with nice white head. Good lacing. Aroma is citrus and tropical fruit. Grapefruit, pineapple, lemon and a little pine. Extremely well balanced clean bitterness throughout. Mild sweetness to give it a malt backbone. Flavors of citrus fruits, pine, caramel. Excellent IPA. Definitely one of the best.

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4.47/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.46/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.63/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

4.24/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.72/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

4.5/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.64/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

4.54/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.62/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.78/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

4.74/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

4.11/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Huge thanks to JLindros for hooking me up with a can of this. One I've wanted to try for quite some time.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip a nice slightly hazy golden hue with a thick almost two finger white head that fades slowly to leave great sticky lacing and a dense blanket. Looks great...until you realize this is so much clumpy particulate in the beer it looks like someone dropped a scoop of oatmeal into your glass. Incredibly unfortunate.

S - Aromas of nice citrus good juicy oranges. Behind that though peaks the onion forward mosaic. There is some nice grapefruit notes along with some good spicy hops.

T - Taste is similar to the nose. Fair amount of citrus and spicy resinous hops. There is a very light mango rind flavour, fair amount of bitter pine. The mosaic comes through in the end with a little bit of an onion flavour. Decent amount of bitterness on the finish with a light malt sweetness to balance it out, almost like a candied orange peel.

M - Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated, fluffy, though occasionally there is a flash of alcohol. Thought this was closer to 9%.

O - Overall this was a solid IPA from Alchemist. It's a month old...but that should change the profile THAT much considering how way back when Heady Topper used to be held back for a few weeks before release. Not a bad beer, but certainly not something I would chase down.

Serving Type: Can

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4.42/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.87/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5