A Night On Ponce

There are big piney and citrusy aromas in this American IPA. It’s a traditional aroma profile for this style, but still comes off as very fresh and engaging. The citrus becomes more distinctly grapefruit-like as it warms. This beer is clear and orange-ish in the glass with a moderately-sized white head that lasts. It tastes predominantly hoppy, with an enjoyable sappy, piney hop flavor that carries a light citrus note. There is more hop flavor than hop bitterness in this beer, but it is indeed bitter enough. Both the malt aroma and flavor are neutral – too neutral, honestly – and come across as just wet. This IPA is satisfyingly crisp and has no astringency. It really retains its carbonation well, which is nice for a beer that takes a while to drink. American IPAs may be tough to brew (good ones, that is), but they are quite easy to judge. With so many examples available, beer drinkers often have a frame of reference for what makes one fall on one end of the quality spectrum or the other. This example is plenty good; it won’t knock your socks off, but not every beer needs to.