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Michael Bury's picture

Gear Up IPA

October, 2016
Judges Rating: 
94
Aroma: 
23 / 24
Appearance: 
6 / 6
Flavor: 
37 / 40
Mouthfeel: 
9 / 10
Overall Impression: 
19 / 20

This IPA opens with moderate lychee, grapefruit, mandarin oranges, and resin that mingle with honey and grain.  The aroma is pleasant and refreshing without the generic fruit salad character that can come from using modern New World hops.  Digging further will net you a bit of alcohol in the background.

Gear Up is on the lighter side of spectrum for IPAs with a deep golden color bearing a slight haze.  It also boasts of an ivory stand of foam that never dissipates even to the last sip.

Upfront light caramel and toast give way to an intense resinous, grapefruit, gooseberry hop flavor.  Make no mistake this beer is decidedly hoppy with a fairly strong bitterness, dry finish, and lingering resin and toast.  As with the aroma, there’s a tinge of smooth, delicious alcohol which is complimentary.

HUB’s Gear Up IPA combines a quality malt backbone with the best flavor and aromas of modern hops. Due to its immense hop aroma and flavor, it can easily compete with bigger IPAs but with more alcoholic restraint.