Pinetop IPA
Little Beast Brewing

WCIPA all the way. Looks great, smells great, tastes great.

True to its name a showcase for the piney resiny hops. Perhaps a more accurate description might be a PNWIpa?

 

 

Pours a clear golden honey with a finger of rocky head that dissipates to a thin cap with a little lacing. Aroma of citrus and pine. Taste follows nose. Full-bodied. Very nice.

Packaged either August 7th or September 7th, 2023 - enjoyed on September 17th, 2023. Poured from a pint can into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Very slightly cloudy gold liquid with a soft stand of eggshell cream. Delicate lacing; decent retention.

Lovely aroma is lightly floral with hints of melon, grapefruit, and tropical elements backed by a more herbaceous resin-kissed core.

Spicy, earthy, woodsy palate entry, suffused with evergreen hops (Chinook/Centennial!) with some citrus (grapefruit) and complex but subtle passion fruit/guava flavors as well. The malt is clean and a touch crackery with a very light caramel/honey note for balance. Moderate, juicy bitterness with a long dry finish with some bready/nutty returning sweetness.

Medium-light-bodied, not-quite-oily, and soft. Adequate carbonation. Crisp yet filling.

Well balanced with nods to NW-style tradition, but with a slightly leaner malt bill and more contemporary hop profile (Mosaic where tradition might call for Cascade in my opinion). Would pair well with a blue cheese burger/fries, shepherd's pie, or other pub grub.

L - clear, crystalline, waters - decent head, a bit of lacing. Maybe its strongest point.
S - muted pine, blueberry, and a bit of a muddled herbal note to this. Nothing stands out as "wow" - uneventful but not offensive.
T - Also a bit thin in the mouth, a little watery, but decent balance and crisp. I'll take it but it doesn't scream "fresh hop" for any special notes or floral/spicy aspects to it.
F - Good, a bit thin on finish, with a nice lingering pine bitterness (promised in the name at least). Finishes off a clean, dry cliff, but could be a bit more interesting.
O - Up on the impression here as the whole is greater than the unequal sum of the other parts, I like it well enough.

 

 

16 oz can, poured into glass

clear, light golden in color, white head. Classic WCIPA attributes - pine/citrus hops in the aroma and taste. dry bitter finish, thinner bodied.

 

 

Can Date: none
Palate Contaminants: none

The color is a very light gold with lots of very fine white head, which leaves a good amount of lacing. They must have been aiming for this look, and actually hit it; it's like a commercial.

The smell is very piney. There's also some malt that connects well with a peach scent. There's something akin to citrus, but it's maybe more lemongrass. Some tropical fruit is in the background, maybe guava, but mostly indistinct. Very pleasant level of sweetness.

Taste is a bit hoppy, and the bitterness is present, although not too much by any measure. it's at a very nice point between the typical AAL and a craft IPA. Very accessible, Flavorful, but not intimidating. Slightly honeyed, slightly mossy. Any of the tropical fruits that were on the nose are pretty much gone.

Good, foamy carbonation. Only slightly prickly with a swish. Alcohol is detectable, which isn't always the case in a sixer. Bitterness increases in the aftertaste. Weight is medium-heavy for the type.

Light golden colour that's clear enough to read a label through. Nice little sudsy white bubbles that settle down to a light dusting

Nose is nice earthy hops with a slight tropical undercurrent. Super inviting.

Lives up to its name with pine being the defining hop bitteness. There's just a faint bit of green fruit in there as well that tastes more new school than the hop-bill would suggest. Overall it's a nice throwback and exactly what I was looking for.

Light medium body with a sharp brush of carbonation it goes down smoothe and lingers with a bitter finish.

I've been missing IPAs like this.

16 oz can. Pours clear light gold with a big fluffy white head that retains well and leaves little lacing.

The aroma is sweet bready malt with fruit and piney hops

The flavor is sweet bready malt with piney ashy hops. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with smooth carbonation.

Overall, OK one dimensional piney IPA.

 

hoppy beer is certainly not what i know these guys for, but i like them well enough i had to try this when i saw it on tap. its a classic west coast type, even classically northwestern to be more specific, woodsy and forest-esque as they come, nicely refined, kind of bigger feeling but not imperial, sturdy, nice for this time of year, flannel shirt required. nice clarity, frothy white head, great retention, good looking pint. the nose is fresh cut christmas tree, a common descriptor for these hops, but like vividly so, like to the extent that i hike to it and am out of breath, can see it in the corner of my living room by the fire, get covered with snow when it is felled, that sort of thing, its downright festive like that. the malt supports it well, a honey note but dry in flavor, simple, fresh. the flavor is as robust as the nose, all hops for the most part, slightly oily and penetrating in feel, wet woods, juniper and gin heartiness, and pretty steady bitterness the whole way too. resin and sap, full mouth experience, clean ferment, well dry, and really tidy and professional in terms of quality. the high carbonation is great with these hefty hops, and the whole thing seems wintery and jovial. i prefer the funky stuff from these guys, but cool to see them doing a little bit of everything. this is old school in some ways even without a huge malt profile, nice for this time of year.

Love this beer. Classic IPA with great mix of pine and melon. Reminds me of Pine by Yakima from Pariah.