30,000 Islands IPA
Trestle Brewing Company

 

A solid Canadian IPA. Malty like Boneshaker or Red Racer. Not overly hoppy but enough to know you you are drinking an IPA. Understated citrus notes under the malts.
I like it.,

 

 

 

Tallboy can from the LCBO for $3.25 CDN or so. Served cold into a pint glass. Review from notes.

Appearance - mildly hazy, more yellowy golden than orange golden, with a finger plus of long lasting white head. Some sparse lacing clings to the glass.

Smell - Nothing new here, but a decently executed aroma of grapefruit, lemon, orange and hints of something sweeter like melon or cantaloupe.

Taste - The same as the nose, with grapefruit and orange being the stars here, a slightly weaker malt backbone and middling sweetness after the initial bitterness rush. Taste is a touch thinner than other IPA's 30,000 Islands is competing against.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, but thinner than average for the 6-7.5% IPA weight class. Good carbonation and dry-ish finish.

Overall - A pretty decent first IPA from Trestle, nothing more and nothing less.

 

Tallboy from the LCBO; dated Mar 11 2019 and served slightly chilled. Reviewed from notes.

Pours a slightly hazy golden-yellow colour, supporting one finger of frothy white foam that withers within the next three minutes or so. A smooth, full coat of lovely lace is courteously left behind, with a thin collar and filmy cap also persisting on; looks good enough to me. The nose is fruity and generally hop forward - I know: try to contain your shock - with notes of grapefruit, orange and indeterminate tropical fruit coming to mind. There's also a few minor hints of melon, mango and pine resin, as well as a lightly honeyed sweetness off in the background.

Its flavours aren't far removed from the aroma, with a light, grainy pale malt backbone easily missed amidst the citrusy hop flavours. Grapefruit is on top, with passion fruit and orange coming through a bit less clearly; these elements lead into a pithy, slightly pine resiny back end, which carries through to the finish. The aftertaste is similiar, with some grassy/floral hop notes also cropping up before the sip fades completely. Medium in body, with assertive carbonation that starts off a little over-aggressive, frothing up in the mouth and such; however, it lightens up satisfactorily over the course of the glass, and actually feels quite smooth and satisfying on the palate, Very good drinkability for the style.

Final Grade: 3.82, a B+. Trestle's 30,000 Islands IPA is an easy-drinking, pleasant little IPA that I don't have any major gripes with. I don't know how well it distinguishes itself from the crowd, as I didn't notice anything particularly novel or interesting about it - however, it's well crafted and tasty with no discernible flaws, which is enough to pull in a solid grade from me. Worth a shot for sure, and this has earned a spot in my pale ale rotation for at least the next few months.

Sept 28 2023

fresh can from LCBO. Hop burn. Unpleasant carbonation. Hop seltzer. Not so interested in finishing this can. Anyone else? Big head but it fades fortunately.

A friend brought a can back from the brewery for me. It's an attractive blue and white can, the inscription on which describes its contents as a "new school interpretation of the American IPA style." This seems appropriate, as the beer is unique enough to beg the question as to whether or not it's an IPA at all...

I poured this beer into a tulip glass, producing a honey-gold body topped with a short, egg-white colored head that didn't retain well. The smell was citrus, though not all that pronounced, with a bit of dank grass over a shortbready malt.

The first taste of this beer was a revelation. What a refreshing ale! I picked up the pilsner and vienna hops immediately, followed by some grapefruit and tropical fruit. It felt very much a hybrid of styles,with the nose of a pilsner, the mouth of a kolsch and the body of a light IPA (complete lingering resin), though somehow it all worked wonderfully together.

I have to say that as the beer flattened the flavors became less pronounced, though the resin remained. It certainly wasn't unpleasant at the end, but this is clearly a beer that is best drank fairly quickly. It's perfect for a summer evening when you've settled into a Muskoka chair and have nothing left to do but watch the lake, the stars and the campfire.

Getting back to my original question of whether this is, or is it not, an IPA... I believe the brewer would answer that it's an IPA by process, but this beer yearns to be your go-to summer quaffer. Hopefully it will get its chance.

I've been coming up the Georgian Bay area for 50 years. There are some good micro breweries in the province but it's only recently caught on the way it has been in the states, and the microbrews are not widely available at the Beer Store. This is a new brewery in the Georgian Bay area and the beer is fantastic and the brewery is right on the bay and a wonderful place to visit. I've just had two of the beers and here is the review for the ipa. Nice balance of fruit, tropical and citrus on the tounge. Nice golden color. Satisfying finish. Not too much of anything but just enough of everything, my favorite kind of ipa right now. Unfortunately, they are selling everything they brew locally, so you have the make the trek to Parry Sound Ontario, the home of Bobby Orr, to sample the brew.