REVIEW 26: PERPETUAL IPA

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Tröegs Brewing Company

STYLE:  Imperial IPA

ABV:  7.5%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack of 12-oz. bottles, $12.99.

SERVING:  12-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. Fairly heady, as it took up over half the glass with what I call a "normal pour." Slowing it down (to about 30 seconds) chopped it in half and then some, resulting in about an inch and a half. Better-than-average retention. 

APPEARANCE:  Light copper tint and fairly transparent. Off-white head that retains excellently and leaves irregular lacing around the glass.

BOUQUET:  Hops--it's an IPA. Duh. But this one is rounded out by pleasant complements of rolled grains and citrus. 

PALATE:  Very well balanced for an IPA, particularly for an imperial IPA. Very subtle carbonation and a medium body. Not too filling. Hop factor is actually fairly mild in comparison with other IPAs; further, it remains consistent, with little variance. Finish is hoppy-grapefruity with teases of orange and lemon. Touches of malt but very little in the way of any sort of spice. Makes for effortless imbibing--again, especially for this style of beer.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Hershey, Pennsylvania ain't all about chocolate anymore, kids. Nor is it all about the amusement park that bears its name. It's now--at least these days--about the beer, particularly that put forth by the good folks at Tröegs. 

The problem with a lot of IPAs is their one-dimensionality. This one bucked that trend. Rather than feature a sharp peak of hops, this one not only exercised restraint in that regard, but knew what to use as counterbalances. As a result, what we have here is a beer that will satisfy the craft snobs while also beckoning the novices to temporarily venture from the macrolager comfort zone. Much like an amusement park. (Was that a stretch?)




GRADE:  A-