Judge’s Review: 90 Rating – Blinded By Nostalgia by Moniker Brewery

American IPA | Year-Round | USA

By Brian Eichhorn

Judges Rating: 90.00
Aroma: 21.00
Appearance: 6.00
Flavor: 36.00
Mouthfeel: 9.00
Overall Impression: 18.00

Blinded By Nostalgia by Moniker Brewery is being evaluated as 2021 BJCP Style 21A: American IPA. Into the glass, there’s a deeper burnished gold color with a faint haze and billowy white head. The nose opens with with a fairly standard mix of hops, lending some stone fruit, resin, diesel and just a hint of onion. Very much hop forward here, but again, kind of the usual suspects of hops, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Faint toasty malt in the backend with a subtle fruity yeast character as well. On tasting, there is a surprising minerality, and a fairly robust supporting malt backbone with more bready and toasty notes than expected. Pretty strong bitterness carrying those classic resiny hop notes at a high level. This is the kind of West Coast IPA that I remember from 20 years ago, and I’m glad to see it’s still kicking; the name is definitely in tune with that idea! Really prominent hops and bitterness with a hint of sweetness in the finish that never gets in the way. Great stuff, even if it’s lacking a bit in originality for the style; I think it still nails what it’s going for, though.