XP Boost
Arvon Brewing Co.

 

Undated can poured into a tulip glass. Guessing it was canned 4 or 5 weeks ago based on when my GR buddy shipped it to me.

One of the most unique Arvon IPAs I've tried, some of which is positive and some negative. I'm not familiar with Talus hops, which might play a big role in the uniqueness.

Typical muddy-gold Arvon IPA coloring, fully opaque but what I would consider to be medium haze with translucent edges. Minimal off-white head that swirling doesn't do much to help, but some splotchy lacing down the glass. Looks more like a 6% hazy than an 8%+ hazy. But certainly fits the bill and looks plenty juicy.

Then the uniqueness begins, with the aroma notes (and many of the flavor notes) seemingly more in line with wine, gin, and specific cocktails than beer. There's certainly plenty of citrus and tropical fruits at play, plus a nice grassy note and some pine resin, so it's certainly IPA territory. But the nose is more dominated by botanicals, floral elements, a strong pina colada note, and a heavy Glade plug-in characteristic (kind of a tropical scent mixed with dried potpourri). Very light and bright and truly unique, and honestly quite appealing when you get past the slightly-artificial scented candle vibe and acknowledge that your expectations for the beer are quite different from reality.

Unfortunately that uniqueness doesn't work nearly as well on the tongue. Here the white wine, gin botanicals, and overripe (boozy) fruit notes are just kind of overwhelming. Clearly tied to the white wine notes, there's a pronounced buttery oak note that lingers. On its own it might be interesting, but mixed with the other dominant notes it just makes for a weird bag.

Typical silky smooth mouthfeel with wonderful coating quality.

Always fun to try something really different, especially from a brewery that you know produces high-quality stuff. But this one is one of my least favorite Arvon beers, and the taste profile simply doesn't jibe with my palate.