Collective Arts Brewing IPA No. 17 – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$5.25 at Liquorville Legacy, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-Jun-2021, reviewed 26-Jun-2021)
Appearance: hazy straw with one finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grapefruit zest, stone fruit, faint tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high tart, moderate sweet, low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, dry short duration tart finish. (3/5)
I’m pretty done with kettle sours, so I almost didn’t pick this up. But, it’s Collective, and the can says it’s hopped with Amarillo, Columbus, Ekuanot Cyro, and El Dorado, so I figured, what the hell? I was pleased to note that the aroma was basically all hops, and to the extent any sourness at all was present, it felt like grapefruit zest instead of a kettle lactic. That came through on the tongue as well, particularly through the finish, where it felt almost Radler-like. Overall, however, I don’t think it entirely works. Although it’s not really puckeringly so, the tartness largely overwhelms the other flavours, and the sweetness tends slightly high, resulting in a bit of a disconnect from the pleasantly hoppy aroma. I’m not exactly unhappy with it, and could maybe have graded it just a touch higher, but ultimately it’s not a complete success. (14/20)
7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze
