Pit Caribou is located in the Gaspésie region of Quebec, which is why I FUCKING LOVE QUEBEC! Oops, caps and swears! It's easy to find a small microbrasserie or brewpub in Quebec, even as well populated as it is, some of the most remote rural regions (like Île de la Madeleine) have microbreweries, Quebec beer geeks really do love their beer, as they should!
The IPA Américaine comes in a 500mL bottle, which I think is a size that's under appreciated here out west, because honestly.. most of us who want to sip and try some new seasonals, we don't want to drink an entire bomber (all the time) of something new, but a 500ml would be jusssst the ticket. Not too much/not too little beer.
Appearance: Pours a golden honey that's somewhat hazy, somewhat clear, like a good American IPA should be. Great amount of head right off the bat, creamy beige and thick.
Aroma: This is yum! Pit Caribou's IPA Américaine has smells of floral hops, a bit of caramel, lemon citrus, more hops and a bit of a woodiness (pine). To compare, this reminds me of whenever I have a great pint of Half Pints' Little Scrapper IPA, that sort of aroma in perspective.
Taste: Muuuuuch more bitter than I expected, substantially more hoppy and bitter than a scrapper or even a Humulus would ever be. The flavours consist of a squirt of grapefruit, a log of pine, a bucket of floral hops and a dash of lemon. Being someone who likes a bitter bitter IPA, I like it, but it could have used more citrus (grapefruit) zest to sweeten and even it out a bit. For aftertaste, it's a spicy hop tingle that just sticks to the taste buds for a long time afterwards.
Overall Thoughts: Sure not everyone's glass of IPA, much more bitter and piney tasting than most, but if you like a good bitter IPA like I do, you will appreciate this one. It comes out at 7% ABV so slightly stronger alcohol content than most IPAs, but you're not really going to notice the difference either way.
Santé!
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