Full Sail IPA

 This Euro style IPA comes to us courtesy of our friends at Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, OR. The beer pours a filtered golden color, with a modest 1/2" head which quickly dissipated down to about 1/8". I had read that the beer was very aromatic, so I guess my expectations were rather high. I actually found the aroma to be on the mild side. The hop character seemed muted to the nose. Citrus was much more prevalent, leaning more toward orange rather than grapefruit. Full Sail says their IPA checks in at 60 IBU's but this beer was bitter on the front all the way through the long lingering aftertaste. There's a good malt character there, but that was also overpowered by bitterness. I will say this, the beer drank and finished crisp. As it warmed the grapefruit aspect became more prevalent. Full Sail IPA is 6% ABV and brewed with 2-row pale malt, hopped with East Kent Goldings and Challenger hops. The beer really did not jump out at me. I'm left questioning who it will really appeal to. I found it far too bitter to be a "gateway" IPA. With it's lack of dimensional hop aroma and mouth feel I don't really see it appealing to hop heads either. None-the-less give it a try. If you like crisp drinking, bitter beers this just may be the one for you. Cheers!