I recently made a trip to visit some friends in Atlanta and I was able to pick up some great beer from the state of Georgia. Over the next month I will be reviewing my loot, so here is week 4! Checkout WEEK 1, WEEK 2, and WEEK 3.

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Goin' Coastal - Pineapple Laced IPA

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A hot trend over the last year or so has been fruit forward IPAs, the majority of which are actually infused with a fruit. Some of them taste great while others have missed the mark. Goin’ Coastal is SweetWater Brewing Company’s latest release and is a great example of using pineapple as a complement rather than the main show.

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As you would expect, there is a great tropical bouquet that dominates the nose. You can search to find some buttery and bready malt notes, but mainly pineapple and mango. Despite what your nose would lead you to believe, the initial sip is actually very much an IPA, that then quickly is followed by the pineapple. However, the fruit is in no way overpowering and everything balances very well together in this medium to light bodied ale. Goin’ Coastal is a very smooth 6.1% ABV that is perfect for summer. I also really appreciate that SweetWater made an entirely new beer, they didn’t just add some pineapple flavoring to something they were already making.

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Established in 1997, SweetWater is Atlanta’s largest brewery. They have been trailblazers in an extremely tough state to brew in. Others that have opened in recent years owe them a great deal of gratitude for the ground that they paved. And now the new guys are paying it back by pushing SweetWater to keep up with the exciting new beers being created. Whatever the motivation, there is no denying Goin’ Coastal is a great beer. Make sure to grab you some 12oz bottles or 16oz cans wherever SweetWater is available.

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