There are some weird bedfellows in craft beer collaborations and here is another one not on my bingo card as Firestone Walker has teamed with Ernie Ball, they of the guitar strings for a West Coast DIPA…
Strung Along
Review – West Coast Double IPA from Sierra Nevada
I will be reviewing ALL 13 of the special Sierra Nevada Beer Camp collaborations this month. And this is the 13th or 1st of the 2014 Beer Camp Across America beers. It is also Not in the Box / Not a Collaboration. Simply a 24oz bottle of West Coast Hop-itude.
The aroma is dank with a touch of cat pee (which I seem to be able to pick up where others don’t) and a bit of citrus peel. The bitterness is there for sure and it sticks around so it certainly is in range of the amorphous DIPA style guideline. The flavor is a mixture of woodsy, which is the dominant component and tropical fruit which is the back-up singer in this equation. This is a straightforward beer. No bells or whistles. Almost like a single-hop beer to a certain extent. Juicy tasting but with plenty of hops to satiate the hop thirsty crowds.
Of the now 5 beers that I have tasted, this would be closer to the bottom. Not because it is bad, just because the others one’s were more unique and complex.