Maine Beer Company Lunch American IPA at 7% ABV
Pours a slightly hazy medium gold with a fluffy white two finger head, good retention and thick lacing. Nose is strongly hoppy resiny pine, slight tropical fruit and sweet malt. Taste is pleasantly bitter pine resin, pineapple and citrus, against a background of sweet malt. Medium- to light-bodied, with pleasant effervescent carbonation and a crisp, bitter finish.
Ok, so I’m highly suggestible, but what else was I supposed to do with a beer called “Lunch”, other than have it with lunch? And it worked – it was a very pleasant IPA with lunch. This is a particularly good IPA: the hop profile is quite enthusiastic, to the point that it’s almost on par with a DIPA. Not a hop bomb or a palate wrecker by any means, but definitely hoppy and interesting, with just enough malt to balance the hop bitterness. This is IPA the way it should be: hop forward, with malt providing support in the background. Their description if it as being an “east coast version of a west coast-style IPA” is bang on. Think big west coast IPA, but without the dankness.
9/10 #ryansbooze
