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The Short Lived Series from MadeWest Brewing has thankfully not been short lived and the latest has arrived with a gator on it and the latest partner, Firestone Walker.
It is a Cold IPA hopped with Mosaic, HBC 1019 and Nelson and the description is “bright hop character full of citrus and tropical fruit with notes of orange, honeydew and peach.”
I was beer shopping and finding quite a few new Artifex beers in the coolers when I thought I saw some beers that were upside down. My eyes were deceiving me though. Artifex’s logo is similar in font to Ventura’s MadeWest.
I ended up with a pale and IPA and now is the time to render a verdict. Which can would I buy again?
Pale Ale – Pours a clear and dark yellow. Aroma is very herbal and grassy. Nice dank bite with a spritz of carbonation at the start that rounds into a lovely peach note. That bitterness sticks to the side of the mouth long after the sip is over. Right at the end is a wheat toast note. The combination is nice if stronger than expected for a Pale Ale.
IPA – Pours an orange color. Aroma has a touch of citrus but somewhat mellow. Picking up grapefruit here in the flavor, it is predominant. More silky than the Pale Ale. Less dynamic in certain ways too.
I think the peach notes puts the Pale over the top. Or maybe I don’t cotton to hop 07270.