Opened cold and poured hard from draft into a straight half. Turbid orange under a dense head that holds the shape of the pour.
The pils / dextrin bill carries the structure and Simcoe / Centennial does the seasoning. At 7.2% and 65 IBU it sits where the style should, and Highland Park have resisted the urge to push it anywhere else.
The aroma writes a cheque the palate very nearly cashes. What arrives is drier and quieter than the nose promises, and while the finish is clean, a point of the score disappears into the gap between the two.
It holds together across a second glass, which is not guaranteed at 7.2%. The bitterness accumulates rather than fatigues, and the aroma is still doing something by the bottom of the second pour, which is the real test of a west coast ipa.
This is the old religion: clear, bitter, dry, and completely uninterested in whether you find it fashionable. The bitterness is structural rather than decorative.
Beers like this are why the ipa section of this site exists at all. Highland Park have been making it for long enough that the consistency is no longer surprising, which does nothing to make it less impressive. If you are anywhere near Los Angeles, CA, go and buy it from the source.
Bought at Import shelf (rare at the time of writing). Drink within six weeks of packaging or do not bother.
If you see it, buy it. Buy the second one for the person who does not believe you.
