Coastal Collaboration Volume II
Pelican Brewing Company

 

triple cold ipa here, not sure i have seen one of these imperialized like this, a monster indeed, absolutely packed with bright new school hoppy goodness, but to me a little overdone, a tad aggressive around the edges, and more than assertive, its almost angry to drink, even though it stays light on the malt and does retain a sort of lagered crispness, rare for its size, but this was a small doses thing for me anyway. collaboration with beachcrest, who are cool. surprisingly light pour on this, no viscosity, very little haze, lightest orange tint to the liquid, looks clean and pretty bubbly too, no sign of how big it is. the aroma and flavor have some alcohol warmth but its not gross, there is nothing from the ferment other than the crispness, no real taste to the yeast, and the malt is largely out of the way as well, which would all lead one to think this is one dimensional beer, but there hops are super nuanced even in their enormity here, and beyond the vegetal green hop burn, there is fresh sliced tangerine, ripe cantaloupe, pear and peach, and spruce tree character, decent bitterness too although not over the top. it all just feels a little overdosed, not forced or inauthentic but just a bit more hops than can be balanced out, a bit more greenness than is pleasant for more than a few sips, a bit more boozy harshness than my palate prefers, and even though they hit this imperial cold ipa really well to style, like the crispness and the lightness and the boldness of the hops, its not thirst quenching drinker, which is what i think about for cold ipa, and the hops are just a bit oversaturated so they stay with me awhile. of fans of the modern imperial, this will be impressive, but for me the whole thing could be scaled back by a level and it would improve the overall experience. for now its a small doses or sharing beer for me, but as always with pelican, the quality is there...