It's Word Association Day at Booze Dancing central! Here goes...
Agave? Tequila!
Grapefruit? Paloma!
Paloma? Yes, Paloma. A delightfully refreshing cocktail made with Tequila and a grapefruit based soda, served over ice with a wedge of lime.
That's what popped into my head when I saw the label on the latest and greatest from Victory Brewing Company, i.e. Agave IPA with Grapefruit which is the first beer of their newly announced Blackboard Series. Here's what they have to say about it:
Agave IPA with Grapefruit is brewed with four variations of American hops that juxtapose strong and bitter aromas against agave and grapefruit additions to create a light, citric bite. The ale is fresh, crisp and bracing, reminiscent of a ripe, ruby red grapefruit. The sweet agave syrup provides a perfect foil to the tartness of the grapefruit resulting in a juicy winter fruit beer.
Here's what I have to say about it...
- Appearance: Clear reddish-orange color with a rapidly dissipating head of foam and no lacing.
- Aroma: There's no denying that there's grapefruit in there because the citrus notes are pretty substantial. Also getting some honey sweetness which I'm guessing comes from the agave syrup.
- Taste: Light carbonation and a medium mouthfeel. Citrus dominates the palate with lots of juicy grapefruit coming through. Some bitterness comes through at mid-palate, i.e. it has a pithy taste that makes me feel like I'm chewing on a grapefruit peel. A bit of sweetness comes through at the finish, but it's overwhelmed by the grapefruit. The aftertaste is somewhat astringent.
- ABV: 7.0%
While there are things that I really like about Victory's Agave IPA (i.e. the juiciness of the grapefruit flavors), there's not enough sweetness from the agave to keep it all in balance. Since this bottle got to me via the mail, there's always a chance that something happened to it during transport (that might explain the disappointing pour since there was little or no foam), so I'm going to say that the jury is still out on this one.
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Many thanks to Victory Brewing Company for sending us a sample bottle of this beer!
Categories: Brew Review, Victory
Tagged as: Beer, Beertography, Craft Beer, Glotography, IPA, Photography, Review, Reviews, Victory Agave IPA, Victory Brewing Company
