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Buffalo Creek Brewing

Crystal clear copper color, off white head, some nice lacing. Citrus and pine aroma, flavors follow, medium bodied, nicely carbonated. Purchased on tap at Buffalo Creek, Long Grove.

16oz can received as a gift from a friend. Canned on 8/2/21, so this is almost 4 months old.

Look: Pours a slightly dark, reddish amber color. It's not clear, but it's not hazy either. There's a fine particulate haze to it. The head reduced to a very thin beige layer. A bit of lacing on the glass. Looks nice.

Smell: The aromas are both interesting and unexpected for an IPA. Initially, I get malty aromas, vanilla (could this be diacetyl? It does almost smell like buttered popcorn), and peppery notes. I am not getting so much hop aroma; there is a subtle, generic dankness along with some woody notes and some pine. Very mild citrus notes like orange peel and a bit of juiciness on the back end. Also a subtle green bell pepper note on the back end.

Taste: This is quite tasty. It's an interesting, darker than most, West Coast IPA. Up front, it is malt forward with what tastes to me like caramel and/or crystal malts. Reminiscent of black bread (something like pumpernickel but without the caraway seeds). On the palate, it is clean and crisp and has good drinkability. 7.0% ABV is hidden nicely. Significantly bitter finish, laden with grapefruit peel and pith and a bit spicy. The bitterness lingers long on the palate and is very pleasant. Even though it is malt forward, this beer tastes pretty dry due to the bitter, crisp finish.

Feel: Medium bodied mouthfeel. It is crisp and clean. Nicely carbonated.

Overall: My first Buffalo Creek beer. This is a very tasty West Coast Style IPA. It is reminiscent of Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam beers, in that it has a nice malty core and also a sharp, classic bitterness. I am impressed that this is the recipe that Buffalo Creek has decided to go with, instead of opting for a trendy New England Style hazy IPA or a more commonly found West Coast IPA that has a paler malt bill. It's differnet, more of an old school West Coast style IPA with some new school hops thrown in. For some reason, I usually like how the malty IPAs and pale ales work with the grapefruit peel/pith flavors; I think that those contrasting flavors pair well with each other.

From the can: West Coast IPA bittered with Centennial hops and dry hopped with Azzaca, Citra and Amarillo. This IPA is malt forward with a burst of citrus and dried pineapple.

While we remain focused on creating great German and Belgian styled beers, we have listened to the ever-growing customer requests for an oustanding IPA. Enjoy!!