Coconut Contender

Coconut Contender by Duck Foot Brewing Co. was judged as BJCP category 29A, Fruit Beer.

The beer casts a deep gold color estimated at 6 SRM, throwing a slight haze. A thick and creamy off-white foam exhibits great stand and lacing. Low outgassing is visible through the column.

The nose is somewhat soft and milder than expected with neither hops nor fruit being strongly forward. Aromas of subtle pine, resin and faint pineapple show over a very mild, cracker-malt foundation and a distinct yet softly sweet, toasted coconut note. The evidence of new-world dry hopping is there, but quite restrained. I’m guessing this example is possibly getting old and showing a loss of hop character from lengthy packaging. It’s possible that with a brighter fruity hop expression the coconut counter would work more effectively.

The beer has a quick shot of light caramel and biscuit malt in the front trailing to a very aggressive and coarsely-flavored hop bitterness dominating the early flavor. Mid-palate flavors of orange peel, pine and –surprisingly — white grape (with tannin from skin) mix with some honey-nectar ketones above a lightly toasty coconut and very faintly sweet malt structure. The late palate is dominated by herbal and citrus hop flavors with some distinct mineral character coming through in the dry finish. The body is medium-full, accentuated by modest conditioning and there is appreciable astringency noted. Overall, the beer strikes most of the major chords of typical West Coast variants, but lacks the great bright fresh hop character found in the freshest examples.The fruit angle in this case seems a tad misaligned. Still, if you like a golden and very bitter and dry beer, this one will likely tickle your fancy.