O.G. IPA
Garland Brew Werks

Poured from 16oz can into a kitchen glass. No date on can, but I purchased it at the brewery.

Appearance: pale golden hue with a pretty clear body and a nice effervescence. Head is a finger of frothy eggshell foam.

Smell: rather malty with a somewhat dank, herbal, piney hop character, maybe with a dash of citrus. It’s not bad.

Taste: toward the malty end of the spectrum, with a bit more citrusy character than the aroma, but still rather earthy. Maybe a little too bitter for the sweetness.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: a decent enough WCIPA, but perhaps not my favorite.

Brewery tap-filled can, poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a fine, half finger white head with nice lacing. Aroma of lightly caramel malt, citrus and lightly dank hops, light orange, grapefruit and mild herbal dankness. Flavor is pale and biscuit malt, citrus and lightly piney hops, grapefruit, orange, lemon and some catty dankness and mild pine in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and nice mouthfeel. A mellow and citrus dominated IPA; the malt body is IPA level,but the hops are dialed back a little like a hoppy pale ale. Not that complex, but pleasant and drinkable. The biscuity element reminded me of an old fashioned West Coast IPA, but with brighter citrus hops.

 

light and clear this one, a pale sort of malt base, even some european pils character there, but a simple beer, and a good one, spicy on the hops, oily a little too in that west coast sense, but its not all that bitter, and with the lightness to me this sort of drinks like a pale, even without being balanced in the traditional way. it feels a little thin, and the hops arent real interesting, but the quality is there, so this one sort of finds middle ground. on its high side its fresh, its clean on the ferment, and it has some oily linger with a pleasant staying taste. on its low side, its minimal to a fault, lacks intrigue, and seems to miss depth i want in the style, especially with northwest in the name. no denying they are ahead of the curve here and making quality beer, but its also true that their hoppy stuff is hopefully still a work in progress. this is good but its instantly forgettable too, and i was in no mood for a second one, even if the first did the trick well enough for me. i was hoping for a little more, but these guys continue to make waves here in spokane, and i feel like they are capable of getting to greatness in this style at some point...