Western Phantasy Vol. 2 - New Zealand IPA
Western Collective

On tap at their Garden City facility; mildly hazed gold with a small white head; interesting assault of hops, first sniff I assumed that grapes and lime were leading the charge, musty and aggressive, but subsequent sniffs lead to an impression of garlic and onion herbal/earthy aromas, lemon, tea, floral and zesty. Touch of toffee malt comes through, grapefruity bitterness, dryness on the finish. Tasty stuff.

loved the first one so much, glad to see this one come in a little less strong though, mainly because i wanted to blast off on a half dozen pints of the first one and would have been dead, but this one has a little less magnetic draw to me, much as its equally well done, and we all have to acknowledge how much better these guys are getting, especially with hoppy beer. cool to see the heavy handed use of new zealand hops, they pop here in the nose, and the beer is more clear than the first one, cleaner looking and lighter too, although still with some light haze. the nose is kiwi fruit, green melon, watermelon rind, and white peach, so bright and fresh, the phantasm element is evident, and it leads the taste too, but it definitely was built for these hops and brings them along, whatever they are, green gooseberry, pear, and grape, along with tangerine, lemongrass, and white tea, this is herbal and fruity at the same time, majorly minimal on the grain side, fragrant and fresh and good, a little oily but clean on the swallow. a high quality ipa here, less striking than the first one, but no denying this is both unique to itself and done at a high level. happy to have these guys rolling so strong right now!

Draft at brewery. Bright golden body, thin, white silky head. Aroma is fruity and floral. Taste adds some toffee to the citrusy and flowery flavors, minor mouth coating, zesty bitterness.