Collective Arts Brewing Collective Arts Fest Pineapple Vanilla IPA – American IPA at 6% ABV (C$5.49 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 1-Apr-2020, acquired 22-May-2020, reviewed 28-May-2020)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of rocky white head, good retention and spotty soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pineapple, vanilla, lactose, citrus, hint of melon. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium smooth body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration mild bitter finish. (4/5)
I couldn’t say I had ever heard of Sultana hops, or their experimental designation X06277 – but then a bit of research indicated that they were briefly (“Briefly”? I’m sure there’s a story there.) known as Denali, and them I’ve had. Since the dominant description is pineapple, this seems like a good choice to marry with the pineapple adjunct they’ve done here. I probably picked this up and put it back down two or three times, and to be honest there aren’t many brewers whose name would have convinced me to pick it up the fourth time. But… it works. The smell is insanely fruity and sweet, but on the tongue it’s nowhere near as sweet as I feared it would be. There’s lots of pineapple, yes, but it’s the fruit and the flavour instead of the sugar, and the threatened vanilla and lactose is restrained and balanced. I could even be convinced to have a second one of these. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
