Postmark Brewing: IPA (Canada: IPA: 6.2% ABV)
Visual: Browned overripe banana skin. Thin off white head. Some carbonation.
Nose: Lemon and apricot. Gooseberry. Light toffee. Chocolate orange. Some greenery.
Body: Big caramel. Greenery, resin, hop oils. Tart grapes. Malt chocolate. Prickling hops. Chocolate orange undertones.
Finish: Lots of hop oils and bitterness. Tart white grapes. Malt chocolate. Greenery.
Conclusion: Ok, I had forgotten how sweet some interpretations of an IPA can get. This my first sip of this was a bit of a shock. Ok a lot of a shock.
This is really caramel sweetness heavy, much lighter on the fruity notes that a lot of the IPAs from this side of the sea. Instead this goes very heavy on the hop oils and bitterness, making the most of the fact that they can get the hops out super fresh in the brewpub. The meeting of the two makes for a bittersweet clash of expectations.
The level of greenery and high resin level puts me in mind of being around people with cannabis – Never having tried cannabis I can’t speak to a more direct comparison. This, therefore, feels very raw and very fresh, rough edged.
The simple clash of the two elements that is its mainstay means that it really does not work as a contemplation beer, more of an assault IPA, albeit sweeter than normal. They really are leveraging the advantage of being able to serve fresh from the brewery to be as raw hopped as possible.
It is a fun wake up call, I haven’t had many IPAs this fresh or raw. As a fresh IPA it doesn’t really fight with the big guns like Stone’s Enjoy By IPA, that was a far more complex beer while still rocking the fresh hop stakes. This really can’t come close to that, but is a simple and fun example of the hops, worth a try if you are in the area and want that sheer expression of the hop character.
So, not going to set the world on fire or shake the pillars of heaven, but it works its niche well.
Background: This was actually an accidental tasting note, I was wandering around Vancouver’s Chinatown when I got lost. Then I saw a brewpub, so I went in to ask for directions. So, while I was in there… well I could hardly not have a beer could I? IPA tends to be my go to for trying a new brewery so an IPA it was. This is 50 IBU. Oh and many thanks for helping me get un-lost.
