Folding Mountain Brewing Ridge Line IIPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.5% ABV | 130 IBU (C$4.68 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 17-Dec-2019, acquired 9-Jan-2020, reviewed 14-Jan-2020)
Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one fat finger of dense ivory head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zingy tropical fruit & citrus, dank pine, caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, lingering and building bitter warming finish. (4/5)
That’s a weird – and not necessarily in a bad way – combination of flavours. It starts off smelling like sour candies or Jolly Ranchers before a dank pine comes to the fore, but the first sip is actually dominated by a completely unexpected smokiness – like, we’re talking almost Rauch-like levels of smoke. Label notes say it’s hopped with Columbus, Mosaic, and Citra, but offer no explanation for that initial sweet burst on the nose or the lingering smoke. The near-double-digit ABV warming and more-bitter-than-you-can-taste IBUs actually seem to neutralize each other so that neither ends up dominating, achieving a sort of Mutually Assured Destruction détente in the finish. Maybe it’s the old booze hound in me talking, but damn if I don’t like this! (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
