REVIEW 31: BENGALI

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Sixpoint Brewery

STYLE:  IPA

ABV:  6.5%

PURCHASE:  60-oz. pitcher, $12.00

SERVING:  Said pitcher, poured into pint glass. Standard pour, standard head (more or less), better than standard retention. A slower pour ironically resulted in a crown over the usual inch to inch-and-a-half. 

APPEARANCE:  In the pitcher, translucent copper-rust color and absolutely beautiful. In the glass, however, poured more transparent and a lighter shade of copper, bordering upon burnt orange--like a bengal! (Sorry.) Bright white head. Lacing uneven but prominent.

BOUQUET:  Though an IPA, hops don't jump at you. Rather, there is a brief note of malt at the forefront, before a gentle segue to hops . . . and citrus. Hop-citrus ratio is more or less dead even.

PALATE:  Citric entry featuring . . . you guessed it . . . grapefruit. Hop factor is fairly tame throughout, rising mid-palate and peaking in the aftertaste--though not nearly to the extent of various other IPAs. Along the way, malt factor is minimal and the citrus factor is constant but held in check. Agreeably bittersweet finish, and a pleasant hop-grapefruit aftertaste. Carbonation sets in fairly quickly but doesn't get out of control so long as you don't hold in for too long. All in all, one of the lightest IPAs I've had, to date. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  An uncommon IPA that is arguably more fruity than hoppy. Grapefruity, specifically. 

This fits right in with the canon of American microbrew IPAs in that it is certainly better than adequate, intriguing, and inviting for repeated sessions. But it doesn't pack a true wallop; it fails to plant a flag and stake its own territory with respect to its category. What it does is simply put forth an honest, viable entry in an already crowded market. As the cliche goes, you can't go wrong. As another cliche goes, you can do worse. As I go, you can still do better. Another one for the like-it-but-don't-love-it pile.




GRADE:  B