Tragedy at the Sock Puppet Theater
Paperback Brewing Co

A pint can at room temperature, emptied entirely, barely fit inside a clear glass liter mug. There was an excess of white foam that slowed the pour, but it receded quickly. Mitigating that visual, there's a prominent and inviting aroma of sharply piney and resinous hops. No, the malt of its body doesn't measure up to it, but that's OK. The brew is hazy and light oak-amber in color. This drinks just like a solid West Coast IPA. The piney and resinous hops dominate, although the malt backing is good enough to provide a limited bready counterbalance and solid mouthfeel. This is a true West Coast IPA, with its clean, dry and bitter hops. Lovers of the hazy style of modern American IPAs will probably want to pass on this one. There wasn't much for glass lacing, but it went down so quickly, that didn't matter. The artwork on the can compensated for that.

This beer is a collaboration between two California brewers - Paperback Brewing Company and Mason Ale Works. Untapp'd credits Paperback but the can says it was brewed and canned by Mason, so I added it here. In any case, it is a fairly decent IPA. Poured from a 16 oz can into a pint glass, this beer featured a clear (on first pour) gold color and a frothy bubbly white head with good lacing and better than average retention. Subsequent pours were a bit hazy. Aroma and taste featured some piney and citrus hop flavoring and a dry, biscuity malt presence. The nose and flavor were not all that strong and there was a moderate amount of bitterness. Mouthfeel was crisp and somewhat bitter..a nice medium richness. In all, a pretty good beer. I had it with a ham steak dinner and it went down well. Still, nothing exceptional though,