Fernie Brewing Company Free Fall American Double / Imperial IPA at 8% ABV | 83 IBU (C$8.60 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 330 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-Apr-2018, reviewed 29-Apr-2018)
Appearance: clear medium gold with two fat fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: caramel, bready yeast, citrus, floral, pine, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate-low carbonation, sweetish building and lingering bitter, mildly warming finish. (3/5)
Somewhat pale for a DIPA, and the aroma and flavour are also a bit on the light side. The balance also tends somewhat more to malty and doughy caramel, than to bright hops, making it a bit more old-fashioned in its character. The carbonation is slightly low, making the body feel just slightly flat and slick. It’s not my intention to trot out a laundry list of failures, and ultimately this is OK – but it’s not much better than that. (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
