Royal IPA
Bastone Brewery

Served on tap at the pub. Tulip glass. Brownish gold in color with a couple fingers of foam. Aroma is floral, and citrus, sweet malt. Flavor follows, but with a surprisingly bitter pine bite that the nose gives no hint of. Sharp and clean finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was just Ok, it was a pretty standard IPA, the yeast stuck out a little too much and it reminded me a lot of the old school IPAs. Not bad, but not something I feel the need to revisit anytime soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This beer was served on tap at Bastone in Royal Oak, Michigan. It arrived in a generic pint glass, glowing a rich golden honey brown coloring. It held a one and a half finger tall head of soapy white bubbles, showing decent retention. Sheets and patterns of lacing were left around the glass as it bubbled away at a medium pace. A chill haze was noted, but no sediment was seen. Carbonation appeared to be light. The aroma was simple, with pale malts, white flour, soapy and grassy hops, apricot fruitiness, lemon juiciness, coriander, sweaty salts, and lighter corny adjuncts. Our first impression was that, as with the nose, we found the hop profile to be a bit basic and subdued, but it still drank easily. As we sipped, the taste opened with pale malts and cereal grain, lemon peel, cherry flesh, alcohol spice, soapy and lemony hops, and black pepper. The middle came to a peak with freshly preshed cotton, oily bark greens, florals, continued cereal grain, bitter walnut, lipstick waxiness, and fresh mineral bitterness. The ending wash came with grapefruit pith, sour green grapes, stark herbals, chemical phenol bite, star fruit, moss, corn, salt, and lightly toasty pale malt. The aftertaste breathed of light booziness, lemon wipes, white sugar, rosehip, dried chamomile, daisy petals, citric and soapy hop bitterness, nectarine and apricot sugars, and dusty, pseudo-wheaty pale malts. The body was light to medium, and the carbonation was medium. Each sip gave decent slurp and smack, but only okay cream and froth. Finishing pop was crisp, aiding to a mild puck and bite felt around the mouth. Otherwise the palate and tongue were lightly coated with little dryness to be found. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this beer was its flavoring and its ease of drinkability. The taste showed a nice array and blend of flavors, including biting soapy hops, a variety of florals, light nuttiness, and clean malts. The lightness of hops helped keep things from being overly bitter, while the paler grain bill lent an easier body for light summer drinking. That said, the entire picture was a bit basic, and the aroma had a bit of a skunky, adjuncty vibe that was a bit of a turnoff at the beginning. This did, however, even out throughout the tasting and with warmth, allowing for a much nicer, more delicious hop profile to break through. This is a nice and soft house IPA, but it surely won’t disappoint.