IPA
Bravus Brewing Company

A: crystal clear; medium gold in color; 1 finger white head that receded to a wispy cap; nice lacing;

S: citrus for a moment, then earthy with a bit of floral;

T: sweet floral from start to finish; mild bitterness in the aftertaste;

M: light to medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: nothing about this beer reminds me of an IPA:

RB transfer

Had this on 2022-10-11 near Pittsburgh, PA from a 12oz can

A - Moderately-hazy straw gold with a 1 finger head that drops quickly leaving little lace

S - Lemon, light pine, bread, herbal

T - Lemon, light grapefruit, cracker, grassy/medicinal spice. Mild-moderate bitterness.

M - Light body and light-medium carbonation. Thirst quenching.

O - This NA IPA suits my taste buds better than many NA brews. Will have this again.

This NA beer is just bad. It has an odd taste / smell, like a cleaning agent. (For comparison, I usually drink Run Wild IPA).

Best by 2022/12
Pours a fizzy foamy 1 finger head with med to lower retention, low lacing, hazy med yellow-orange color

Nose mild sweet cereal grain, good malty aroma, fresh lighter hops lemony citrusy touch floral

Taste brings more doughy malt, fair malt with little cereal, a touch of that sorghum like grain thing, light floral hop turning to lemony citrus fruity pebbles, lighter to med bitterness, touch of pith late, drier finish

Mouth is med to lighter bod, med to lighter carb

Overall not bad, for NA beer it has done nice characters and not too much of the odd sorghum like extract thing

(12 oz can, best by 04/22; purchased single off shelf... poured into a 14 oz mug)

L: clear, yellow-gold liquid, slight haze; 1.5 finger-high, rigid foam sponge... lacing all up and down the glass; chunky collar

S: rose water and fruit cocktail juice; lovely, bold

T: the aromas give way somewhat to a burst ruby red grapefruit and tropical fruits (ripe papaya?); dry finish with lemon-lime zest and a light, floral-shaded bitterness... mellow, white cakey malt, drenched in hop resins; the marriage of hop choice and pale, bready malt

F: feathery edges to a light-bodied, but resin-soaked texture... a little back-end hop spice warmth, peppery and tingly; carbonated just enough to help give the hops a bit more zip

O: I don't know what y'all were drinking, but this was a pretty decent pale ale... in fact, I rather enjoyed it; plays to my love of low abv Bitters (1929)

12 ounce can, best by 03/23 stamped on the bottom of the can. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a slightly hazy gold color with not quite an inch off-white head. Head retention and lacing are both OK. Not much to the aroma, the brew smells like pine/dank/citrusy hops and vegetables along with a hint of bready malt. Unfortunately the weird vegetable aroma stands out. As with the aroma, the weird vegetal flavor dominates here compared to the bready malt and pine/citrusy/dank hoppy flavors. Mouthfeel/body is light/medium, it's coating with a moderate amount of carbonation. Easy enough to drink. Eh, not a fan of this one. It's drinkable but wouldn't make a point to drink this one more than once.

The initial smell was a modest hop aroma and wort, so I had hopes of having a good beer. That's where the good part ends. The taste is of watered-down juice from green vegetables with modest carbonation. The can is not dated, and my store doesn't turn over these NA beers very well, so an old beer may be a factor.

 

 

Poured from 12oz can into a dimpled mug. Listed as best by 10/21.

Appearance: light straw hue with a little touch of haze and a decent apparent effervescence. Head is only a thin layer of white foam, but otherwise not too bad.

Smell: there are hops here, but they have a bizarre character that is coming across as sweet potato and broccoli. Um, it's a thing alright. Not my favorite.

Taste: slightly sweet malt base with more of that bizarre sweet potato flavor, perhaps with a little mintiness thrown in. Very strange; I'm not into it. I think this'll be my first NA drain pour.

Mouthfeel: light body with a decent carbonation. Credit where it is due, this is not bad for NA.

Overall: I am not sure what the goal was here, or why you would even market this beverage.

Cann marked "best by" 12/21. Consumed 7/24/21. Ranked against other NA beers this is still awful stuff. I literally poured it out after forcing enough down to form a solid opinion. It pours the color of light lemonade and there are numerous suspended solids of various size, shape, and color that are really unappetizing. The head is thin in body and disappears quickly, leaves no lacing. The smell is somewhat citrus/maybe somewhat barely hoppy. The flavor is a complete fail: it is like bad lemonade made with rotten citrus fruit. Really awful. The mouthfeel is acceptable, and comparable to other NA beers, i.e., somewhat thin but with a decent level of carbonation that detectable but not overwhelming or fizzy. Overall I would never drink this again. I have had multiple other NA beers which I ranked at about 4.0 overall so I am not biased against NA beers but this one is really bad.

Giving this another go, since I had to commit. My first tasting did not leave me with a favorable impression, so I sat on the remainder of my pack. Has time mellowed this out? Did things improve with some age?

Pours a clear, thin, straw-golden tan. Nice foaming. Appearance-wise, we are fine. The aroma isn’t hoppy, in a traditional sense. Very vegetal forward, none of the floral, piney, or citrus nuances but all the green matter. Green pepper comes across further on the sip, Finishes with a strong aftertaste, and not in a good way.

12 Oz can. No packaging date

Pours a hazy yellow body with a white head that stuck around longer then other NA's. Multiple rings of lacing all the way down the glass. I must say it's the best lacing I've seen on an NA beer so far...

Scent is wort forward cooked vegetables. (ouch!) Faint pine notes

Taste loses some of these characteristics. Just not enough ! I'm getting a little bit of bitterness though.

Medium body and nicely carbonated

Overall The feel was good and the appearance has some style points to it, but it's always hard to get past a wort forward NA beer like this. I sure wish the brewer would use some type of package dating. This is the 2nd different Bravus brewing beer I've had that has been disappointing and I'll never know if it was a freshness issue.

Pours hazy, gold in color with one third inch head. Taste is vegetables, lemon lime, and earthy hops. Light bodied, slightly sweet, low carbonation. This is awful. I cannot finish more than a couple sips. Not sure which is worse, this or the amber. How does the label have a bright hop on it and then it taste like veggies that are overcooked.

L - 1-finger bright white cap has impressive head retention. Body is a muddy, but still translucent, yellow.

S - vegetal. Mushroom, radish, carrot, with some citrus behind all that.

T - veggies. Lots of pureed veggie in this glass. Also getting dirt, licorice, artifical sweetener, and a little orange pinesol. No bitterness. Moderate sweetness.

F - medium body with exacting carb.

O - I am not getting the Bravus appeal. I am 0 for 2 now on their cans. This could very well be a very old can, but there is no can date, and they shipped it to me less than a week ago, so I have to judge it harshly. The head and body are great, but that’s all the good I have to say. I would choose any Athletic, or any Brewdog, ahead of this. Sorry, Bravus.

Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

For an NA, it certainly looks like an IPA. Deep rich off white head, reaching a thick solid three fingers of fine swiss cheese bubbles, with good staying power and retention. Body color is a light caramel, a little bit hazy and muddy, but otherwise looking like an old school solid IPA.

Nose is heavy on sugary wort sensations. Faint touches of hop but lots sweet caramel, cooked sweet grains and sugar. Smells like just made wort of homebrew.

Palate is actually a bit of a surprise. There's a typical sweetness to be associated with the non alcohol component, but there's a fine tinge of pleasant orange that makes it’s way in. Lots of sweet malt caramel and white sugar like flavors though like sweetened tea, but also just a faint hint of pine like bitterness in the mix too.

Makes me wonder if this is a bit faded as well, cause the pieces look like they are available. I'd be curious about a real fresh one to see if it's any different.

 

It is pale and hazy with a nothing special head. The isn't off-putting but not very appealing either. The rye comes through well on the nose as well hoppy aromas. Taste-wise, the aroma hops enter the stage first giving way to a balanced grain profile with he rye still noticeable. It is not bitter. The feel isn't bad, its full with a good foam. Overall, it is interesting: a non-alcoholic beer with rye. Not bad though.

I applaud Bravus for attempting an NA IPA. They came pretty close. I really wanted to like this beer, and for a moment I almost did. Weak head that fizzled out after a second, but the body’s good; the mouthfeel is akin to a decent alcoholic beer. What can’t be ignored is an odd undertone of tomato juice. If you drink it ice cold from a glass on a hot day then this will probably do for those who set their expectations low.