Willie Nelson
North 5th Brewery

a nelson driven west coast ipa, nice expression of the hop, poppy and bright, double dry hopped but clean and not oversaturated, strong but light in body, drinkable and bubbly, moderate bitterness, does not come at the expense of the more exciting aspects of the hops, and overall pretty good, enjoyed on tap at the source, cool spot for a few pints! golden beer, nice and clear, an inch of airy lasting white head clinging to the edges of the glass, well polished and bubbly, i always like when a small operation achieves this level of visual tidiness, shows intent. aroma is among its best features, white wine and white wine grapes, apricot and peach, lemongrass and meyer lemon zest, fresh and well dosed, quite a bit of citrus to this, a little springtime floral character, kind of warm and sunny like that as a feeling, some bitterness too though, not crazy but its there, and with a rather light grain side to my nose, simple, for the best i think. the flavor isnt quite as pure nelson as the aroma to me, a touch of slightly vegetal character coming in, some bite disrupting the delicate vinous and floral vibes, but still great, somewhat quick, some more grain balance too than it looks like it will have, but this is pretty well proportioned, dry and quick to finish with a little melon, lychee, and even kiwi fruit on the recall, back to a little apricot and chardonnay too, still very nelson, compressed just a bit to the center of it. good carbonation, could drink a fair few of these, listed at 7.1% abv when i had it, seems strong for a beer that drinks lighter than that, but there is no sign of it here. i was pretty stoked on this place, nice mix of classics and creatives on the beer list, nice people, no frills. solid ipa here.