Batch #1000 Brut IPA
23rd Street Brewery

the proliferation and newfound popularity of this style i think has left everyone racing to try to figure out exactly what it is and make it, and in a lot of cases, the haste of these breweries to get in on the action has resulted in some mediocre beers, in this style more than any other right now i think. here we have what seems like an awesome how bill thats totally marred by the attempt to make this a brut. you have a nice simple clean grain base and some killer hops for the dry hopping, why mess around with it? well, it seems its no longer brewers driving innovation but a popularity contest manipulating brewers. this has a fine appearance and nose, but there is a weird chemical element to the taste, maybe the enzyme gone wrong, maybe an attempt at some alternate or secondary yeast strain done too warm, either way, its an off flavor and it turns me off from this, but only temporarily, as the hop complexion comes back all full of galaxy and amarillo and redeems this as much as possible. this one is a follower not a leader, and thats a turn off too. for a 1000th batch, i would have hoped they would do something more creative and indicative of who they are as a brewery...