Tailgate Session IPA
Brewsters Brewing Company & Restaurant - Eleventh Avenue

 

This may be one of the worst ipas I have tasted. Hops are muddled by the malt profile which tastes like it uses too much crystal malt. As a side note, this was not brewed in Canada. This is by tailgate brewery in Nashville who should scrap this recipe!

 

 

Pint on tap at Calgary Crowfoot location. Arrived a hazy golden yellow color with a light smattering of white bubbles, mostly on the sides of the glass.

Aroma was bright and hop-forward, recalling fresh grapefruit and orange rinds, a whiff of pineapple and guava, pine needles, a minimal caramel malt sweetness. Malts very much downplayed here as one would expect. Taste wise this is probably one of the better session IPAs of many I've sampled in Western Canada, perhaps because the brewer absolutely nailed the hop bill or perhaps because this is fresh on tap. Either way, I'm on board. More of the grapefruit and orange from the nose along with pungent lemon-lime, spruce, cannabis buds, the other kind of grass, under-ripe guavas, and a slight touch of toffee. Light airy body and quite fizzy. Finishes crisp and dry with the citrus rind notes lingering.

As I said, a great hop showcase, at least on this occasion. Why does the can depicted here say "Nashville, Tennessee"? And since when does Brewster's have cans? I could just be majorly out of the loop, but not the correct beer methinks.

20oz pint at the Edmonton Oliver location.

This beer appears a hazy, medium golden yellow colour, with a thin cap of wispy, weakly foamy, and bubbly off-white head, which leaves a bit of sticky snow rime lace around the glass as it quickly disappears.

It smells of softly dank, and rather citrusy (orange and white grapefruit) hops, crackery pale malt, and a further leafy, earthy, and herbal bitterness. The taste is more of the same - slightly dank pine needles, muddled citrus rind, grainy pale malt, a touch of caramel sweetness, hints of earthy yeast, and a lingering herbal acridity.

The carbonation is fairly innocuous, barely a pip or sense of zestiness to be had, the body a sturdy medium weight for this proto-style, and equally heady in its smoothness. It finishes on the dry side, the citrus, pine, and herbal essences predominating.

Overall, one of the better versions of this dumbing down of the venerable IPA that I've yet come across. Tasty, hoppy, and without the attendant loss in overall bearing, even if the malt kind of seems like it's dialing it in at times.