Moody Ales Affable IPA American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$8.50 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, bottle date 15-Jun-2016, acquired 19-Aug-2016, reviewed 21-Aug-2016)
Appearance: hazy deep gold with two fat fingers of creamy ivory head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pithy grapefruit, resiny pine, pale malt, and yes, fruit salad. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium-duration bitter finish. (4/5)
Nice. Citrusy and piney hops lead the way over a pleasant clean malt base. Affable? Well, Merriam-Webster says “affable” is “being pleasant and at ease”, so hells yes, this is definitely affable as all git-out. Definitely the way I like my IPAs – hop-forward, bright, and clean. Doesn’t quite blow my socks off, but it’s definitely worth trying – and I’d like to try it fresher than the two months old this one is. And I gotta say, these guys do their labels right: colour, bitterness, nose (on a scale of “fruit salad” to “egg salad” – nice!), grains, hops, tasting notes, food pairings, IBU, OG, FG, SRM, and serving temperature. My only beef here, and it’s a small one, is that the bottling date imprint isn’t very visible until you actually go hunting for it – a little white cutout in the label would be nice. My first Moody (if we’re not counting their Brews Brothers Purple Haze Black Currant Sour collaboration), but it definitely won’t be my last. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
