After stopping at a couple of breweries this morning, including Elysian and Pyramid, and then stopping at Two Beers and Georgetown brewing, My cousin and I decided to go to dinner at Elliot Bay Brewing Company in West Seattle. This brewery had come as a recommendation from a couple of people from Twitter and my Google+ page, but he had been there before and said it would be a nice place to have dinner.

Location: On tap and served in an imperial pint glass at Elliott Bay Brewing in West Seattle, WA.

Appearance & Aroma: It’s light-copper colored and slightly hazy, and it had almost no head on it, only a ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass. There was a definite citrusy and slightly floral hop aroma.

Taste & Feel: The body was medium and the mouthfeel was pretty smooth with a bit of crispness I couldn’t tell if it was from the carbonation or the hops. The front was lightly bready and malty with a bit of caramel, but it was only noticeable for a brief second before the hop bitterness came in. The bitterness was mostly citrusy, but as it opened up in the finish, a bit more floral and piney flavors came through. The hop bitterness lasted for a couple minutes in the aftertaste.

Food Pairing: This is the kind of IPA I love to pair with a thick, flavorful, juicy hamburger. Both the food and beer have strong flavors, leaving you with the last thing you had (either the food or drink). After each drink, the hops are about all you can taste, but after a bite of the burger, the hop flavor fades away to make room for the meaty burger flavors.

Overall Impression: I was really looking forward to some good IPAs here in the heart of hop country. This beer fit the bill nicely. It seemed to have a decent malt backbone – enough that it was detectable right up front – but was overtaken by the northwest style hops. There was a nice mix of citrusy, floral, and pine flavors, and I enjoyed tasting it well into the aftertaste. It was a solid IPA that any craft beer lover would certainly enjoy.

My Rating:

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