The last few weeks I have been in the mood for IPAs. At this point I look up and down the shelves at my beer store and grab the first thing that looks interesting that I have not tried before. ThunderHead caught my eye this week along with Wolaver's Organic IPA by Otter Creek. I was really disappointed in both. This poured a nice golden color with not much of a head. The aroma was fresh and bright but not hoppy as it was neither floral or fruity. I have been fooled before so at the time I did not think much about it. The flavor of the hops was not floral but just slightly fruity with subtle apple notes. The flavor was sharp and the body chewy. I could taste a lot of alcohol up front and I could also taste some apple and pear notes mingled in with grain. The finish was Bitter with a capital "B" and the aftertaste was slightly acidic. There was just a touch of the floral hops at the end. The flavor of the hops were very earthy and tasted more like dandilions than roses, as the hops were not bright. The hops imparted a lot of bitterness to this beer without adding the more floral/berry fruit flavors I expected. As the beer warmed, the floral hops developed a bit also adding some tanginess to the finish. This beer was highly carbonation, which I thought went well with the flavors. I have mixed feelings about this beer. It was not the IPA I was expecting but it was an interesting interpretation of one. For my taste, I think this was a little too harsh for me. I tried this along with Wolaver's Organic IPA by Otter Creek. I was left wanting after trying these two IPAs.
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