Bent Stick Brewing Co. Swap the Hops HPA 016 – American Pale Ale at 5% ABV (C$4.55 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 3-Mar-2021, reviewed 11-Mar-2021)
Appearance: lightly hazy straw with two fingers of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, resiny pine, caramel, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short duration medium bitter finish. (4/5)
I like the original idea behind this one: keep the same base recipe, and just swap out the hops. (Though, apparently they shook things up as of this one, changing up the base recipe to a supposed NEPA style – but I can’t say mine was more than just a little hazy.) In any case, it’s certainly better than the first version of it I had, more than 4 years ago, which just said “hops will vary”. It’s still guilty of one of my major beefs, though: no packaging date. (A check of their socials suggests it’s got to be newer than January 28, since that’s when they first canned it.) The HPA 016 hops are new to me, but as is usually the case for ANZ hops, I think I might be a fan. All in all, it probably ties for the best of theirs I’ve had to date. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
