Early Appearance of Stars
Belleflower Brewing Company

 

Early Appearance of Stars

Belleflower Brewing

IPA - American

Ok, I'm not sure that newer brewers know what a West Coast IPA is. Usually, Medium bodied malts and hefty, high alpha acid style hops. This IPA has some assertive pine, pineapple, and dry earth tones, but not West Coast style. It's fruity and nice./////
Soo clean, golden look, refreshing, juicy with earthy and pine hops that are big compared to most IPA's. Not West Coast, but damn fun to drink

16oz can from cold storage. There is a canned on date but it's on the edge of the can and "05/2025 08:40" is only visible, no month.

Appearance: It has a hazy light straw colored body. Fuzzy shapes are still visible through it but it is hazy to the point that it seems a bit cloudy even. The head is very oversized, rocky, and white. It has large clumps of lacing and very good head retention.

Aroma: It has a grapefruit aroma with a bit of lime. There is an interesting passion fruit scent that comes through too. It smells nice and fruity.

Taste: Up front there is a bit of pine and some lime flavor. A light bit of wildflower and clover character towards the middle giving is an interesting taste. The finish delivers some retronasal wildflower character and there is more of that pine. It's a lovely tasting beer that is very delicate and interesting.

Mouthfeel: It has a light and delicate body with a mellow hop bitterness. It is very easy to drink and it has an almost refreshing quality.

Overall: The label calls this a "WEST COAST STYLE INDIA PALE ALE" and it really doesn't taste at all like a West Coast IPA. The flavors are very delicate and it has a very mellow hop bitterness. On the beer's own merit, irrespective of any style, it is an excellent beer that has a nice floral character with some fruity notes. It's a lovely beer that would be great to enjoy on a picnic or during a brunch when you want something light but flavorful that isn't overpowering. It's a great Spring or Summertime beer. I'd definitely buy it again and I'd recommend it but I'd caveat that people should just expect an excellent American IPA from this and not a West Coast Style IPA.

 

A decent and quite tasty beer that seemed to have the yeast profile of other Belleflower beers, and I could get a bit of a hop bite but not much...but there was not much for me that suggested this should be called anything but a New England Hazy at least from a flavor profile, certainly not a West Coast in any sense of the style. It more resembled a New England Hazy but could have been on the border...tough to tell these days. Either way, a decent beer that maybe straddles the divide and worth trying!