Blindman Brewing / Troubled Monk Brewery Burbank Series No. 2 Brut IPA American IPA at 7% ABV (C$2.92 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 9-Oct-2018, acquired 19-Oct-2018, reviewed 2-Nov-2018)
Appearance: brightly clear pale straw with one finger of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (5/5) Aroma: citrus juice and zest, leafy green weeds, crackery pale malt, light pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, high carbonation, dry almost astringent finish. (4/5)
Yay! Another Brut IPA! And this one is very true to style: pale, highly-carbonated, and dry – in short, highly attenuated. A damn sight better than their first collab, I might add (which at the time puzzled me immensely given the love I have for both breweries). No hint of the relatively high ABV in the champagne-like finish. A quick note about the dryness of the finish: it’s not overly so, and actually tends almost tart or astringent. Not puckeringly so, but definitely mouth-cleaning and more-ish. I might be a touch miserly on my scoring here, but if I am, it’s because I think they can actually improve this. As in, unverified sources suggest this has Mosaic, Motueka, and Mandarina Bavaria, but I’d love to see a DDH version without the Mandarina Bavaria (which always seems to come up short in the citrus department) or the Motueka (yeah, fine, it’s an ANZ hop, but it’s very Saaz-like)… just spitballing here, but how about Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin? (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
