Go Ask Your Foeder
Benchtop Brewing Company

 

Look: attractive tea/apple juice color with a thin lacing that remained in place throughout the sampling. As noted earlier, no brewing/canning date on the can, and I also could not find any reference to this beer on Benchmark's website.

Smell: interesting, in that I could not determine if the sulfuric funkiness was intentional or not. Wafts of (no kidding) ocean surf and some hoppiness (spruce? barrel wood?). Unlike anything I have come across and I can't determine if that is a good or bad thing. I have

Taste: some sweetness, possibly from the barrel aging? Pleasant hoppiness (again, spruce tips? maybe it's the barrel wood) and a dependable malt backbone. Very drinkable, but I am also getting the ocean-air waft with each raise of the glass and it is a definite distraction.

O: I am torn; on the one hand, I enjoyed the piney, sprucy taste, but on the other, I could not overlook the sea funk. Will give this another go with an eye toward disassociating the two.

I don't see a date listed on the can.

Appearance: The body is a light tea color with a golden-brown appearance that is very cloudy. It has a slightly off-white head that takes on a hint of tobacco stain color. The head is thick and fluffy with a dimpled surface. It has excellent head retention and keeps a medium-large stature very well. It has thick blotches of foam on the glass.

Aroma: There isn't a lot going on in the aroma; it has some light pine and a faint garlic aroma. It is pretty unremarkable. There was a bit of a crushed grain flour aroma that came through faintly and only on one approach to the glass, but it was nice.

Taste: Up front there is a bit of a dusty caramel flavor with some pumpernickel rye bread. Near the middle of the mouth it takes on more of a wheat cracker flavor with a bit of cracked black pepper and lemon. Near the back of the mouth there is some pine and garlic with more rye flavor. It is a vary savory tasting beer.

Mouthfeel: It has a soft mouthfeel which leans just slightly south of medium-bodied. It has a touch of a slickness and a bit of chew. It has a tempered bitterness which makes it feel dull (as in not sharp, not boring) but more rounded on the palate. It makes the beer feel more interesting to drink.

Overall: The label on the can states that this is a "Foeder Aged West Coast Style India Pale Ale." Wood aged IPAs are fairly hard to come by, especially ones that are Foeder aged. The wood from the Foeder doesn't seem to come through in the aroma or flavor of the beer, but it is likely that it contributes to some of the texture of the beer. This beer has a more savory character which doesn't quite fit the self-proclaimed West Coast Style IPA but it does still fit with the body. If anything it tastes more like an East Coast IPA. The beer is good but it seems to be having an identity crisis. As far as wood-aged IPAs go, I wouldn't put it up there with something like White Oak Jai Alai or Oak Aged Unearthly. Pairing-wise the beer would work well with lamb, goat, dark turkey meat, or duck. I could drink it again but it isn't something I would regularly buy. I wouldn't really recommend it unless there was a specific case where somebody was looking for a savory beer with a mellow bitterness.