Faces Double IPA - Citra & Idaho 7
Wellington Brewery

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Feb 14 2022 and served barely chilled.

Pours a relatively clear, effervescent golden-yellow, generating nearly two fingers of lumpy, foamy white head that dissipates at a casual pace. After five minutes, a rocky half-inch cap and collar are still in place, with a gorgeous sponge print-patterned coat of lace gracing the glass - looks superb to me. Fruity hops on the nose, including grapefruit, orange pekoe tea, stone fruit and passion fruit, with hints of bubble gum and ethanol.

I like it - not simply a hop bomb, it's actually fairly well-balanced for a DIPA. Almost a little sweet at first, with suggestions of caramelized sugars as well as a bready, wheaty pale malt backbone. Fruity notes of mandarin orange, grapefruit and apricot aren't far behind, and there's also a distinct pine resin-y note throughout much of the sip. Finishes with a blend of fruit cup sweetness, herbal/black tea bitterness, pine resin and moderate booziness, with the latter two in particular lingering into the aftertaste. Nearing full-bodied, with low carbonation and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel that suits this style nicely, improving its drinkability substantially. Even still, one can per night should be plenty for even the most devout hopheads.

Final Grade: 4.02, an A-. Despite being one of Ontario's eldest craft breweries, Wellington has released very few IPAs that I would consider distinctly above average - though to be fair, they've absolutely been improving in recent years. I think their Faces Citra/Idaho 7 is more than enough proof of that, with its appealing, well-tuned blend of intense hop and malt flavours. As a fan of both Idaho 7 and Citra, it's not surprising that I enjoyed this more than the Mosaic/Simcoe variant. If they brew another batch, I'd say give this a try without skipping a beat.

 

473 ml can from the LCBO for $4.75 CDN. Canned Feb 14, 2022. Listed as having Citra and Idaho 7 Hops. Appears to have been brought back. Served cold into a tulip.

Appearance - Hazy golden color with orange hues. Impressive two plus fingers frothy and long lasting white head. Some curtain style lacing sticks to the glass and plenty of visible carbonation.

Smell - Pretty tropical, with a nice medley of tangerine and grapefruit and maybe some passionfruit. Weedy pine lingers underneath over a malty backbone.

Taste - Lots of tangerine up front, then some grapefruit and finishes a bit piney. Creamy caramel malt behind all that. The citrus is really nice on the front end.

Mouthfeel - Very smooth, fairly full bodied with a creaminess that adds to the depth of flavor.

Overall - A good sipper of a DIPA, something about the way the taste pairs with the feel is very very well done. Worth a try and probably my favorite of the Faces series so far.