Old Pine
Matchless Brewing

can into glass
Full, off-white head that recedes slowly and leaves a good amount of lace on glass. Medium light orange with a golden hue to it. Rich, mixed orange with some grapefruit peel and pine, mixed with plenty of medium caramelized malt, for the aroma. Solid amount of tangy hop flavors of tangerine peel with some grapefruit & lemon peels, along with a moderate amount of medium toasted malt, for the base, making up the taste. The body is medium light.

definitely a classic west coast type here, clear, brassy toned, bright white headed from the tap, fresh as can be in aroma and flavor, dry hopped liberally but also rather bitter, and balanced from some slightly richer and more nuanced malts beyond pale two row, but not toasted, sweet, nutty, or overly full bodied or anything, its about the hops but its not one dimensional, really well done, i wish ipa would just go back to this as the gold standard type. definite pine notes in the aroma, meyer lemon, tangerine, and juniper too, a hint of tonic water character with that, a little honey from the malt and a soft bready vibe, super cohesive and well refined, nothing from the yeast at all. it smacks with bitterness from the first sip, a partially unexpected front end pop there, and it carries through the finish on the backs of a slightly fuller body from the grain and some of the essential oils this drips with from all the hops. a grapefruit note, plenty of woodsy pine needle character, and some sweet orange in the mix as well, robust but clean, really good. high carbonation, no frills, wonderful execution. these guys keep on impressing me with everything they put out, regardless of style. i miss this kind of ipa pulled off at this level. yum!

 

Clear orangey amber brew with abundant foam in the Hopleaf goblet. Warm malt taste is quite pleasant with orange flavors. Then more flavors of pine and grapefruit peel. Interesting fruitiness tempered by the resiny notes. Quite spritzy on the tongue with a mild tangy. Some woody aftertaste.

Overall this is powerfully flavored but friendly brew. Moderate bitter aftertaste with plenty of aromatics. From the 16 oz can purchased at Central Market. "Canned 6/28/2021" on the lower corner of the label.

16oz can (dated 8/10/20) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a clean, clear copper color with 2/3 inch of white head that had good retention and no lacing.

Pine and citrus hops had the front of the aroma (along with some serial killers basement dankness), and some grain in the background.

Nearly identical on the tongue, with some bitterness on the finish.

The body was the typical medium-full of the style, with a semi-dry finish.

Drinkability was good, I could easily see drinking a few of these.

Overall, a pleasantly solid brew, and one of the better ones I've had from this brewery. worth trying if you see it.

 

Nice clear light yellow that looks like old school beer. Wet white head of bubbles that slowly settles in to drifts in the corners and a fair smattering across the middle.

Nose has inviting old school aroma of light sweet caramel and grassy hops, mildly fruity, and a touch of citrus.

Flavour is pleasantly enjoyable and really catches that old school no frills basic IPA feeling well. Hops are certainly present, but they aren't the bash you over the head palate wreckers, they're more the carefree grassy/fruity/floral with some dull bitter finish that for some reason reminds me of wandering through Golden Gate Park when I lived in SF.
Working t hrough the can, the sweetness does kind of build up a bit more than I would prefer, especially given the rest of the profile of the beer.

Clean and drinkable with a mild to low-moderate hop finish, this captures the spirit of what it is trying to do exceptionally well. I do find the name a little misleading as it is not some pine bomb, or woody, or anything like that, but it is a nice pleasant inoffensive throwback to simpler times.

I had this beer on-tap in a pint glass at Collins Pub in Seattle.

Appearance: medium gold hue with a moderate haze and a finger of frothy ivory foam. Nice!

Smell: sweet, with fruity, grassy and slightly earthy hop character. Not bad.

Taste: more earthy and piney than the aroma, with a pretty big underlying sweetness. It's not bad, but for this earthier flavor profile I find it's a bit on the sweet side.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and creaminess for the style.

Overall: a decent IPA, if rather sweet for me.