Review: Parkside Graffiti West Coast IPA

I had an absolute blast at Port Moody's Parkside Brewery last month - the taproom had an awesome vibe to it, the staff were insanely friendly and their beer was stellar. Whenever I get a combination of that, I absolutely must buy some of their product to take home with me. I bought some of their Graffiti West Coast IPA. My good ol' beer buddy Len sent me a message a week or two after visiting Parkside and let me know that Vern Lambourne (formerly of Granville Island - see a review here) was the co-owner/head brewer over at Parkside. I knew that Vern was now involved with another brewery as he had left Granville several years ago, but I didn't know it was Parkside. I was a huge fan of Vern's seasonals and one-offs he did over at Granville Island so it made the visit to the brewery even more special.

Graffiti West Coast IPA tops out at 6.9% and is described as "brimming with pithy grapefruit, light pine, and floral hop notes, and a bold yet balanced bitterness which lingers on one's palate."

Appearance: Quite hazy but not too hazy, but definitely looks cloudier than many Juicy/NEIPAs I've had in the past few years. Deep orange body with a very nice amount of fluffy snow white head on top. The head diminishes rather quickly yet leaves behind a moderate amount of layered lacing on the side of the glass,

Aroma: IPAs have changed a lot in the past half decade so I always expect every IPA to be tropical notes to be first and foremost and anything bitter be just a slight lingering aroma. This West Coast IPA brings me back memories of the IPAs I was savouring back in the mid 2010s, this has a bitter pine aroma with a hint of soapiness to it, hint of grapefruit and a slightly sweet tropical presence of pineapple and mango at the end.

Taste: Quite bitter up front, something I haven't seen in a good amount of time. Notes of pine, a bit of alfalfa, lemon, grapefruit and pineapple. There's a moderate breadiness to the beer so it's definitely got a bit of heft to it. The mouthfeel is a tad acidic from the hops and the aftertaste is full on bitter pine and lingers for a good moment.

Overall Thoughts: A good West Coast IPA with a liberally bitter piney bitterness and a bit of a tropical sweetness following the bitterness. This really does remind me of the IPAs I was enjoying in the mid 2010s before the hazy/juicy/NEIPA craze hit. This is also the kind of IPA that people hates on, thinking that every brewery in the world only makes bitter IPAs now days.. for me.. bring them on!

If you want to check out my visit to the Parkside Brewery, click here!

http://www.theparksidebrewery.com/graffiti