Reviewin The Brews: Training Pines IPA
Hello and welcome to another edition of "Reviewin The Brews" where we take a closer look at local and not so local brews and see how they stack up. This edition is special as we are now breaking the mold after the first two editions focused on stouts (which as of right now I am still directing a lot of my drinking towards, but that can soon change) and bringing in a try and true type of brew: The IPA. Now as I've probably told you in the past, the IPA is one that I really don't go for too much. Since I've started my beer journey, I've always found myself drinking ones that just go a bit too heavy on the hops. I still remember the first time I ever tried any sort of pale ale: It was at my sister's old apartment and I went to a party of some sort and I felt like having a drink (my sister was always good about that sort of stuff whenever i was over there) so I looked in the fridge and a four pack of Sierra Nevada Pale Ales was on the top shelf. I took one out, took a sip and instantly that bitter taste just filled my mouth. I thought I was licking a pinecone. Needless to say, I never tried that again, but in more recent years I've been introduced to much milder tasting IPAs, particularly ones made in the New England style and it was a better experience, but even with that, I wouldn't jump for an IPA if i had to pick from a row of different brews. Having said that, with this blog I am open to all kinds of brews no matter what they are so let's take a look at this one.
First some background information. We have travel out of New England and go down SOuth to the city of Austin TX at a small brewpub called Pinthouse Pizza. Now compared to other parts of the country, brewpubs are still trying to find its footing in Texas. But in Pinthouse Pizza, there is a concept that you would think would fit together like a hand in a glove right? A pizza joint that just happens to brew it's own beer? Sounds like a winning concept in my book. This brewpub likes to pride itself to making beers that are far removed from bitter flavors and a couple of their products have been Great American Beer Fest winners, including a porter that goes by the name "Blind Jake". And with that being said, time to review their Training Pines IPA!
First Impressions: This can was sent to me for a birthday present (you see the trend I've experienced with recent gifts?) and when I got it, it came with a brewery glass as well a short hand written description showcasing the name of the brewpub, the ingredients used, as well as the ABV (alcohol by volume) but did not give the official name of the brew. So I try to look at the can and all it shows is the logo and the name of the brewpub. I contacted her asking what the name was and she didn't know, only that she asked for a can of their best seller which they put in the can and then wrote it down on the can, but i'm guessing whoever wrote it had really bad handwriting because it was barely readable. The way I found out exactly what it was was by looking at the ABV and looking at the beer menu to see if something matched up. But just looking at the size of the can, this was made for multiple use. Apparently this specific can is used by most breweries for quick fill ups.
Appearance: Probably a little brighter than most IPAs. Looking at eye level there seems to be yellow at the top of the brew, Orange in the middle and then yellow again at the very bottom. Pours to a small head. A little carbonate at the bottom
Aroma: Very citrusy, perhaps a bit of grapefruit if my nose is to be relied well. A subtle floral whiff can also be detected
Taste: As advertised, the bitterness is very subtle, which makes guys like me very happy. A few different fruits come to mind as I drink (I keep wanting to say peach and tangerine). Very smooth on the palate. Not too bad
Overall: For a guy who can really take or leave IPAS, this was alright. The color looked weird and there was a lot to the taste of it, like they wanted to put in as many citrus flavors they could into one beer. ****/*****
Today officially begins Western Mass Beer Week and I plan to stay busy going out and experience all the great events this year will bring. It's a shame they aren't doing the Scavenger Hunt like they did last year,
Expect another "Reviewin The Brews" early next week as I will do one for the collaborative brew from Beerology and Abandoned Building Brewery made specifically for this week long event called "The Manhan Trail Pale Ale". I will also try to do a "Goin Through The Breweries" with BLDG 8 Brewing, especially now that they've opened their new patio. But until then this is Andrew saying Cheers To You!
Comments
Post a Comment