Being an Anchor fan I was really anxious to try this so I only gave it 24 hours in the fridge before trying one last night. It looked like beer, smelled like beer and tasted......well, like beer.
Ok, now let's get to the details, here's the pour:
Your eyes are not deceiving you, it's almost a ruby color, not like your typical IPA. By color alone it's reminiscent of Sierra Nevada's Flipside Red IPA. By no means off-putting, but darker than I would have expected.
The aroma is West Coast IPA all the way.The Cascade and Citra are front and center but a careful and deliberate 'sniff' also detects the Nelson Sauvin which I am a huge fan of in just about any beer. Clearly the other hops are bringing something to the table too because there are a few notes in there that I just can't put my finger on. I guess that is what the other two bottles are for....more testing!
How does it taste? It's yummy. I wasn't disappointed at all. It has a nice floral taste on it upfront, a small lingering bitterness and then just a hint of the Munich to finish it off. What you are left with is the desire to have another sip. And then another. And so on...
It is not astringent on the tongue like some West Coast IPAs can be, referencing something like Lagunitas which makes as stellar IPA that leaves your tongue a bit dry. This doesn't do that, but doesn't finish sweet either. This is another beer that doesn't drink like 6.5% - in fact until I looked it up I would have guessed that it was much lower than that.
While I have come to love some really good 2X & 3X IPAs, they remain 'treats' for me and not everyday drinkers. Something like this is an everyday drinker IMO and something that I will gladly purchase in the future when the pipeline is low.
Again, I may be biased because I am an Anchor fan in general, but I think they nailed this one. We'll see if my opinion changes after I've had another one in a few days to compare but I don't think it will.
