Review: Moosehead Peppermint IPA (Small Batch Series)

Moosehead's Small Batch series arrived for the very first time around this time last year with their Strawberry Rhubarb Milkshake IPA being the very first beer of the series ever making it out here. I did a review of the Milkshake IPA and it actually ended up being my Beer of Summer '19 as I had many, many cans of the beer and since it was on tap at the local Original Joes restaurant, that's the beer I ordered the most during nice days on the patio.

Back in the winter, Moosehead brought out a Peppermint IPA with notes of herbal hops, pine and mint. From the label: "One sip of our Peppermint IPA will have you saying, 'Winter is coming'. A hint of minty coolness from dried peppermint leaves and subtle notes of pine from Northern Brewer hops are combined to create a truly unique seasonal flavour." 5.6% ABV / 40 IBU

Well winter is technically over here on the prairies but the weather keeps dipping down to -15C so I won't believe it's spring until it stops being gloomy as hell. I'm not sure what to expect but I'm not really a fan of peppermint so we'll see soon enough..

Appearance: Clear with an amber appearance to it. The body has a hefty amount of carbonation to it that reminds me a tad of their Pale Ale. The head on the beer is pretty thick with three fingers worth of off-white head to it - The thick head barely moves a bit as it warms up a bit, that's how thick it is.

Aroma: The first impression I get is a classic Pale Ale kind of aroma to it - malt forward, bit of floral hop presence to it. Decent amount of caramel presence to it and then... wham! You get the peppermint full on attacking your nostrils - it's minty, it's sweet, it's toothpaste in beer form.

Taste: Peppermint, caramel malty sweetness, and a bitter pine presence.. actually the bitterness is quite bitter. I've actually sampled this beer before and I found it to be full on toothpaste flavour but I also had it straight out of a can and not in a glass.. so this is why I'm reviewing it now and not months ago, I was planning on never reviewing this beer due to it tasting way too much like toothpaste during that sampling. The beer is moderately pepperminty with the hops pretty much meddling with the mintiness of the beer. The mouthfeel is carbonated and you immediately get bitterness from the hops, while the aftertaste is pine and mint.

Overall Thoughts: As I stated, I wasn't planning on reviewing this but trying this again, especially in a glass, was a better experience than last time. It definitely is reminiscent of toothpaste but nowhere near as bad as it making me think I'm swallowing toothpaste this time around. The hops make a big impact in the beer - it's nice to see Brewer's Gold being used in Manitoba, a hop that traces its history back to Manitoba wild hops. It's nowhere near as tasty as the Strawberry Rhubarb Milkshake IPA but this is actually quite smooth considering the bitterness of the hops.