Sawback Brewing Co. West Coast IPA American IPA at 6.6% ABV (C$4.23 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 1-May-2019)
Appearance: slightly dirty pale amber with one fat finger of rocky white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap and ring, spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel, tropical fruit, pine resin, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration finish. (4/5)
Another local (well, almost – Red Deer) brewery, breaking new ground with a radical new style of beer… if it was still 1994. (OK, to be fair, the Mosaic is pretty new.) I dunno – this one isn’t really firing me up at all, despite being one of my favourite styles. It’s definitely an old-school throwback in the malting, which gives a sweet almost syrupy note in the aroma, carrying all the way through into the slightly sticky finish. No date on the can, so I can’t speak to whether age is affecting this or not, other than to say they certainly haven’t been on the shelves around here for more than a month, so I doubt it. Could be oxidized, though…? (13/20)
6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
