White Tail, Blue Pine
Vibrant Forest Brewery

 

a single hop summit double ipa, served from the cask, and a really great beer overall, an awesome showcase of a hop that never really seemed to have its moment in this context, i love what they have done here, and its an great first impression for me of this brewery. the beer is hazy, they all are these days arent they? but it has a pure white head with good retention and an aroma of sliced oranges, green melon, and sappy fresh cut pine boughs. super fresh, really intense. the malt base is cool too though, maybe wheaty or oaty, it feels fluffy and is kind of starchy, i think it works to ground the hops, extend them, and provide some needed texture for the pretty pungent hop profile, which starts about halfway through the flavor and lingers long after the swallow. i like how obviously dry hoppy this is, but also how it has some bitterness, so few of the juicy ones ever do anymore, and i like this giving me both sides of the hop spectrum. its so forward and intense, its almost got that sort of cryo candied thing going on, i really have not known summit hops to be this interesting and seemingly modern before, i love it! i also rarely prefer a big ipa on cask, but there is a softness to this that makes it mellow and approachable, and i think its just right, well conditioned and still real fresh. impressive ipa here, really well done!