Medicine Hat Brewing Co. Topaz APA American Pale Ale at 4.9% ABV | 49 IBU (C$7.95 at Andrew Hilton Wine & Spirits, 946 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 18-Jun-2018, reviewed 18-Jun-2018)
Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fluffy growing ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, stone fruit, hard water minerality, hint of green onion and cat piss. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly thin, m/low carbonation, lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)
The last beer I can think of that specifically mentioned having Topaz hops was Oskar Blues IPA, which is pretty good company to be keeping. This would appear to be a single-hop implementation, and it’s pretty good, as far as it goes. It helps that I’m a sucker for ANZ hops, of course, but in general Topaz seems to be a fairly well-rounded hop, with decent dry-hopping capabilities in addition to clean bittering (though it’s no Galaxy). It does, however, have a tendency to get a bit sharpish in the finish, with a hint of green onion and cat piss that, though not unheard-of, isn’t entirely welcome either. There are some structural issues here, too: despite the energetic gas release upon decapping and the enthusiastic head, the carbonation doesn’t sustain well, and the body tends to the thin side. On the up side, I always enjoy the confirmation bias of finding yet another beer obeying that 10:1 IBU:ABV ratio. Decent, if not exactly memorable. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
