Review: Altitude Ascension Hazy IPA

A few months back when I was in Vancouver for the Weathered Beer Celebration, I met and schmoozed with a few of BC's best brewers. I didn't know anyone at the festival aside from the organizer Jonny and my host Chris. As soon as we got to the event, Chris was chatting with people he knew - one of the first people he was chatting to was Xander from Altitude Beer Co, a brewery that brews over at the collaborative Callister Brewing. A few days after Weathered, Chris and I visited Callister (our visit coming soon) to check out the taproom and sample Callister and Altitude's beers. I picked up Altitude's Ascension Hazy IPA to take back home with me.

From the website: "The third hazy IPA in our series, Ascension takes you to new heights. Hopped with Mandarina Bavaria and Cascade, and fermented with kveik, this beer is all about tropical and citrus fruit, predominantly oranges." 7.2% ABV

Appearance: A murky dark orange body with a hind of sediment floating around in the beer. The head is two finger thickness of yellowish-beige head, it doesn't really go down as it warms up or savoured, it leaves behind a moderate amount of lacing on the glass.

Aroma: Notes of caramel, a citrusy zest with notes of lemon, orange peel, a hint of graininess and ends up with a bit of a floral/herbal hop presence at the very end.

Taste: This is a sweet and herbal hazy IPA that has a bit of a toasted malt flavour to it, notes of caramel, orange, and lemon. There's a bit of a peppery spice to it, a fairly dry aftertaste and ends off with a quite bitter and tingly aftertaste.

Overall Thoughts: This is a bit more herbal/bitter than most Hazy IPAs I've had in recent memory.. reminds me a bit of a West Coast IPA. Absolutely tasty, mildly tropical and hop forward.

https://altitudebeer.com/#beers-section