This last month has been a hectic one. The end of the school year is always a fun time and with the month of June comes a real urge to drink some awesome fruit beers. Being a beach bum summer guy, I really enjoy a whole bunch of tropically influence beers, and this is my latest attempt at one. This beer is a citrus hopped IPA with around 95 IBU’s of Warrior/Citra/Pacific Gem being added predominately in the last 15 min of the boil. After fermentation, I chopped up a whole pineapple that I had let “ripen” for about 1 -2 weeks and put that into a keg with the IPA. A month later, I transferred off the beer and tapped it, here is what it tasted like:
Appearance: A honey/ straw color that is semi clear with just a slight cloudiness, poor head retention, but highly carbonated
Nose: A big citrus nose with the Pineapple shinning brightly. Mango and apricot undertones.
Taste: A light beginning with a slight hop bitterness coming forward, followed by a big tropical finish. A bitter pith of grapefruit and tart pineapple end into a dry finish.
Mouthfeel: Balanced, but big. The dryness causes the taste to linger.
Overall: a bit too dry for what I was going for, but for a highly hopped IPA, it was pretty delicious. This will go great at the beach or a BBQ. 7/10. Add a lot more specialty grains next time.