85 Rating: Patroon IPA by Hidden Cove Brewing

Patroon IPA by Hidden Cove Brewing is an American IPA and is being reviewed as such (BJCP 2015 Category 21A). It pours a deep golden color with an orange hue from some haze and a lasting off-white head. The aroma is all about the hops with a soft fruit character (orange, melon) as well as some tropical (pineapple, grapefruit) and floral notes. These floral notes become much more apparent as the beer warms. There is also light pine, resin, & garlic/onion at the back end to balance the fruit. Beneath the hops is a low malt character that is lightly grainy & bready and a touch of alcohol.

The flavor is similar to the aroma, hop-forward with more soft, juicy fruit (tangerine, melon, mango) that leads into grapefruit & floral notes with only a hint of garlic. There are also low levels of pine that build on the moderate bitterness. The malt is lightly grainy with a wheat/oaty character and a bit of toasted bread. The body has a mouthfeel that is soft on the palate despite some light alcohol showing thru. This IPA shows some softer new world tones and seems to use a different blend of hops than most of those out there right now, which gives a nice change of pace from every other IPA out there