2 Crows Brewing Merida – American IPA at 5.4% ABV | 31 IBU (C$5.80 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 8-Apr-2020, acquired 22-May-2020, reviewed 26-May-2020)
Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of fluffy pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, tropical & stone fruit, citrus, caramel, hint of dank pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)
Hopped with Mandarina Bavaria, Huell Melon, and Bru-1 – oh well, one outta three ain’t bad, right? I had high hopes here for one of my favourite NS breweries (next to unfucking filtered, of course, but it’s hard to get growler fills from Halifax) but using two frankly mediocre hops is a hard handicap to overcome. Don’t get me wrong, it’s OK, but it’s not bright and juicy. Though, now that I check my records, I see that the only IPA of theirs I rated higher than this one was Polyanna, at The Stubborn Goat, which I liked because of the wild yeast notes, so maybe bright and juicy IPA’s aren’t really their thing? Oh, well – it’ll do, I guess. But I expect a better effort next time! (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
