The first time I ever tried Thunder Bay's Sleeping Giant Brewing's beer was when a family friend named Sue stopped by my parents place last year and brought me a can of of their Grass Roots Lager, a beer brewed for the Staal Foundation Open golf tournament. I was impressed with their lager, it was slightly hoppy yet wasn't overly light nor overly bitter.
Sleeping Giant's beer is in Manitoba now, today I'm checking out Hoppet West Coast IPA, something that's an exclusive to the Quality Inn Craft Beer Store.
6.5% ABV, 70 IBU
Appearance: Pours a clear amber with a good amount of carbonation taking place in the body of the beer. The head is a light-to-mild beige frothiness on top that leaves behind a bit of a bubbly lacing on the side once the beer goes down a bit.
Aroma: Hoppy yet sweet - there's a good deal of piney hops, a slight amount of alfalfa, and a good deal of caramel malt sweetness.
Taste: Pretty decent take on a West Coast-style IPA this time around - I get a bit of a tropical hop presence right from the beginning (pineapple), followed by a long lingering piney hop bitterness that even leaves a bit of an aftertaste on the tongue long after the beer has been savoured. There's a bit of a sweet caramel flavour from the malt.. but I'm finding the piney hops are quite a bit more present. Some graininess from the barley, light floral notes, and a light dough presence from the yeast.
Overall Thoughts: While I wouldn't say that this is the best West Coast-style IPA I've ever had, this one was incredibly solid - it had a nice lingering bitterness that I haven't seen in a while, a bit of a caramel malt profile and a light citrusy sweetness. I would have liked to see more of the tropical citrus notes pop out more in this beer but seeing an IPA with an actual bitterness in this day and age.. that's something I've missed for a long time. I'll try to review more of Sleeping Giant's beers in coming days as I have a bag full of them thanks to Sue!
One thing I don't understand is why there's a "beer gauge" on the label.. unless if the beer is coming right out of a freezing cold cooler, I don't think the indicator would actually tell you how much beer you have left.. or perhaps my fridge is just too warm?
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