Beach Cruiser IPA

Beach Cruiser IPA by Garage Brewing Co. was judged as a 21B (Specialty IPA – New England IPA) per the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines. As poured, the beer is a deep gold and clear, but not brilliant. A large beige head of tiny bubbles fades slowly and provides a nice Belgian lace on the glass. The aroma starts with a floral honey note and a light caramel character with deep sniffs pulling out a bright grapefruit note. Flavor-wise, the malt is a slight floral/herbal honey and light toffee notes, with moderate pink grapefruit juice and a slight grapefruit pith and zest. Prominent smooth bittering lingers into a somewhat tropical fruit finish – with late notes of papaya and mango. This seems to be primarily a West Coast IPA, but with some New Zealand-style tropical hops added – and all of the flavors play well together – the beer is not a muddled mess even with all of the hop complexity. Overall, everything works nicely together, even the caramel/toffee notes are complementary to the hops. Late note – as the beer warms up, the grapefruit becomes more prominent, along with a moderate pine tree sap note. Very complex, very interesting. Pair this with a basil chicken dish or something else slathered in pesto.