West Coast IPA
Protector Brewery

Real nice dank smells of mango and pine forest you can tell this one will have bite...and it sure does right up front all the way to the end of the sip...fruity hops up front nice carbonation melding with a dank pine forest bitterness and slight cracker like malts. I think they changed the IBUS to 50 recently and I got the 60 ibu version. Definitely seems hoppier than 60 ibu! Reminds me of old school IPAS before all these brewers changed it to hazy and new england styles. Great Beer!

Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of tangerines, light lemons. Taste is the same as the aroma, some malts and pine are also present, moderate bitterness. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer.

05/18/21 on bottom of can. Poured into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint.

A: Slightly hazy gold with 1-2 finger website foamy head with good retention and a thick ring of lacing.

S: Aroma is a bit light in intensity with mostly herbal and grapefruit/lemon citrus. Minimal yeast esters. Malty aromas are light pils cereal grains.

T: Very dank and raw hoppy up front with more bright lemon and lime citrus finished with some berry and pineapple. Not estery in flavor either with moderate bitterness.

M: LIght-medium body with moderate carbonation and dry finish.

O: I wish this beer had a bit more bursting hop character but the dank, herbal and citrus notes get the job done. Great job Protector.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a light to medium golden amber with a one finger white head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of lightly biscuit malt, citrus and dank hops, tangerine, light pineapple and light stone fruit and lemon. Flavor starts with pale and mildly biscuit malt, light stone fruit, grapefruit, lemon, hints of tropical fruit. Flavor of malt and hops thin out into a somewhat dry and somewhat astringent hop finish with some piney notes. Medium bodied with light creaminess. I guess this leans towards a West Coast style IPA, given the citrus and piney finish, but it has a fairly light malt body with no caramel notes. It's more like a very hoppy pale ale. The hop blend is pleasant enough and there is a decent, assertive bitterness in the finish that I appreciate, but the finish is a bit too stark to support the bitterness. Drinkable and nicely hopped, but could use a boost to the malt body. This a several month old can, so perhaps the hops have attenuated, but the malt should be close to its original intent.

Pale golden brew with long-lasting foam in the wine-style glass. Hops are listed as Centennial, Simcoe, Mosaic, Magnum, and Chinook. You'd think there would be some flavor in all that, but it tastes vaguely herbal with a finish that reminds me of the under-sink compost pail. There is an aroma of wet cedar that is interesting, but it fades. The flavors are a murky mix of herbal and cardboard with a mineral aftertaste.

This is a peculiar and not very lovable hoppy brew. The label boasts of being organic, which always worries me. From the 16 oz can purchased at Barons Market. Canned on 11/01/19, says the bottom of the can.