Tiki Time IPA
Brewery: Pinthouse Pizza Brewing
Style: American IPA (21A)
Package: 36oz Crowler
Purchased: Pinthouse Pizza
Packaged Date: 7/30/18
Consumed Date: 8/8/18
Details from the Brewer
ABV: 7.4%
Brewed with Creature Comforts Brewing, Bearded Iris Brewing, and YCH Hops, this collaboration IPA features Citra, Simcoe Lupulin Powder, and a new hop called Sabro (previously experimental hop HBC438). Revel in the effortlessly smooth and tropical, piña colada reminiscent nectar, it’s Tiki Time!
Review
Aroma – 10/12
A strong punch of tropical hop character leads off. Guava and orange/citrus hit first at a high intensity. This is followed by more hop character, grapefruit and nectarine rounded out with an overripe mango character that has a very slight BO twang. A low alcohol note is present, but blends with the hop character. A low sweetness is present, Malt character is pretty hidden, but there is some doughy quality.
Appearance – 3/3
Pours a deep straw liquid with a strong haze. Off-white bubbles make up the head, varying in small and medium sizes. Retention is good.
Flavor – 18/20
Hop character hits first and hard. Heavy orange and pineapple are up front, with a lighter notes of tangerine and a few tropical fruits like papaya and mango. These flavors carry into the midpalate where a slight grainy malt character appears with a low sweetness. Towards the end of the taste, a medium bitterness comes out and brings with it a slight piney character, and maybe coconut from the Sabro. The finish is dry, but punctuates the bitterness softly. Tropical hop flavors coats the mouth afterwards.
Mouthfeel – 4/5
Medium carbonation prickles the front of the tongue (doesn’t seem to be affected during packaging the crowler). Medium -Full bodied with soft edges. Some oily character on the cheeks. Medium alcohol warmth is present in the back of the throat on the finish.
Overall Impression – 9/10
This is definitely a great IPA. The tropical hop character is balanced perfectly with the citrus. No off flavors present in the aroma or flavor. I’d like to see the alcohol warmth it the throat toned down a touch. It seems a bit strong for a 7.4% beer.
Rating – 44/50
It took me awhile to get Pinthouse on here. While their beers are delicious, they package most of their beers as crowlers/growlers off their draft system. It can be a bit hard to review a whole crowler. Tiki Time works well. As a collaboration of 3 great producers of hop-forward beers, it’s a little hard to guess how each contributed to this. It’s interesting to see how the Sabro hop plays out in this, and definitely makes it worth a try before it’s gone.
