Wheelbarrow of Swords
Allegory Brewing

16oz can

Pours a solid finger of white head into my nonic. Retention is quite nice so far, only fading half way after a few minutes. Initial lacing looks nice a well. Body is golden, pretty clear, maybe a tiny bit cloudy from those oats. Large amount of bubbles coming up. Looks very nice so far.

Citrus, some pine, maybe a touch of berries hiding in here. Not quite dank, but maybe a little spicy. Nose takes a minute to open up, but leads to some nice floral perfume notes, and deeper berry aromas. I’ll go 4, just barely.

Very refreshing. Comes off dry for a second, but quickly wets the palate nicely, adding a little sweetness to smooth it out. Pine and floral are the two things I’m pulling out here, not a lot of citrus, maybe a smidge of berries. This is a nice classic west coast, with a dash of sweetness and flowers. Not a huge amount of flavor and not too complex, but it’s very smooth and tastes nice.

Mouthfeel is very solid. Oats always make for a smooth beer. Aforementioned, very well balanced, a little sweetness helps even the beer out. Bitterness is pretty modest. Carbonation is medium, maybe a touch below. Has a good body, certainly a little bit of weight to it. Overall very smooth, a little creamy, and quite refreshing.

Drinkability is wonderful as well.

Appearance turned out fantastic. Thick lacing all the way down, and the head lingered nicely as well.

Flavors start to come out even more as it warms. All together this is a solid west coast, it’s tasty and has a wonderful mouthfeel that does a little of the heavy lifting.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a two finger white head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of lightly caramel malt, citrus, lemon, light mixed tropical fruit and a touch of grapefruit. Flavor is lightly biscuit malt, grassy and citrus hops, lemon, light mixed tropical fruit, grapefruit. Light citrus and grapefruit finish with a hint of pine. Medium bodied with light creaminess and sharp carbonation. This strikes me as more of a pale ale profile with a lighter malt body and moderate bitterness. The hops are interesting, kind of a scattershot of flavors with citrus, some tropical and pine elements. The initial part of the taste seemed modest, but the hops kick in an it finishes nicely, although as noted more like a pale ale to my palate, albeit a hoppy one. Billed as a "New West Coast" IPA, I'm not sure it adheres to the West Coast style in much except the citrus. It is new and different, though. There are some interesting flavors in the lingering finish. Interesting.