One Fish, Two Fish
Vice Beer

a unique and mostly successful brut type ipa here, a blast from the past, we just dont really see these around anymore, or at least acknowledged as such, even though this little moment in ipa has had lasting impacts, see the new west coast ipa, which is essentially what this is, where i had it on tap it was listed as a brut. anyhow, this is cool on a few levels, its stronger in abv but super light in body color and body, and also grain influence overall, its minimal there, really dry and simple frankly. it also uses anchovy hops, which are such a cool story and until now not super available really, so neat to get to taste them in a context they can star in, so those things really work for this. i do think the beer is just a little bit underwhelming from a quality standpoint, like there is a slight ester to the fermentation that to me clashes a bit with the hop profile, and i also think it lacks the quickness i look for in this type of ipa, its not sweet, but to me the finish is somewhat unresolved for whatever reason, and its plenty bubbly but still doesnt feel as bright as it could, maybe some intangible aspect is off a little bit, but the hops are cool and i think thats the point. notes of lemon candy and lemon cleaner, floral springy white wine, a touch soapy and even catty but then with melon and kiwi and papaya tropicality, lighter than expected, almost belgian fruity, something in the ferment exacerbating that side of this i reckon, lemongrass and even dill later, less oily and resinous in texture than a typical west coast type, insanely light on the malt for its abv, approaching phenolic as it warms, never bitter really at all either, more grassy later, a coriander note, so interesting. a neat look at the anchovy varietal in a context that more or less flatters it, had slightly higher hopes, but its unique on the palate and something a little different overall, glad to have these guys available in idaho now, their contribution has been a good one!