Beer reviews: Grid City West Coast Style #6 IPA and Fisher Brewing Merry Fishmas
Two new IPAs that are a joy to drink
By Mike Riedel @utahbeer
Grid City - IPA (West Coast Style #6): The newest IPA in Grid City's portfolio features Magnum, Whole Flower Amarillo, Whole Flower Cascade and Whole Flower Simcoe—all dry-hopped with the Falconer's Flight hop blend.
It pours a crisp, foamy head of a pastel white tone over a medium unfiltered golden-amber body with light carbonation and fine clouded sediment. Retention is average, the lacing is light and spotty. A pale cracker malt aroma joins with a moderately bold citrus impact, generating light fruitiness, moderate peach note, and a moderate hop profile backbone of tropical fruit and citrus peel with a mild bitterness. Overall aromatic potency is quite bright.
Grapefruit is forward up front, with an almost puckering tanginess, moderate pith and fruity yeast. The first swig rounds out with a softly juicy hop finish of lemon, peach and tropical fruit juice. Gentle malt profiles of pale and cracker malts provide a simple malt base with reserved sweetness—very nicely executed flavors in this ale, with a gentle hop profile finish. The texture is lightly slick with a moderately oily residue, softly chewy and medium dry. Carbonation is medium, generating froth and a moderately crisp finish. Body is medium for the style, and moderate overall. Balance is slightly tangy, sour over sweet and hoppy bitter. The 7.2 alcohol presence is light, with no off characters.
Verdict: A very enjoyable, nicely balanced IPA with great flavor and a nicely hopped back end, lots of bright, accessible flavor and a gentle bitterness. I haven't seen much of the Falconer's Flight blend in a while and always enjoy seeing it make a flavor impact in beers. This one was very solid—I recommend that you check it out.
Fisher - Merry Fishmas: This beer may have a Christmas theme, but it's far more than a typical holiday flavored IPA. It features a hop simply called (for now) HBC-1019, which boasts a mix of citrus, tropical and stone fruits, plus notes of coconut, Valencia oranges, caramelized bananas, peaches and honeydew melon.
What we have is a Double IPA that's somewhere between a NEIPA and WCIPA—and it's pretty good! Poured from a 16-oz. can into a Fisher pint glass, this beer features a somewhat hazy, dull gold color and a smallish foamy white head with better than average retention; there is lacing, mostly the filmy type on the glass. Aroma and flavor are mostly orange and tropical fruits. Backing them up is a dry, biscuity maltiness so this one doesn't come off as a juice bomb.
The taste leads off with that alpha-acid smack, but quickly dials back on the anticipated subsequent bitterness, which is true to style but still on the fruity-side. I've come to rely on that resinous leafiness to wash over the palate, which is prominent here and is satisfyingly rich. This is a well done NEIPA, made the way they're supposed to be made. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, but again, that round finish is simply satisfying. The alcohol is fairly well-hidden for an 8.8 percent beer.
Verdict: This is probably my favorite IPA to come out of Fisher. This New England style tastes super fresh and for a single hop beer it hits on all cylinders. I'll definitely be ordering this one a lot in the coming weeks.
You'll find both of these IPAs at their respective breweries, though some of the better beer pubs are picking some up as well. As with all IPAs, fresher is best, so please check these flavor bombs out sooner rather than later.
As always, cheers!
About The Author
Mike Riedel
Local boy and pilot of City Weekly’s best gig, The Beer Nerd column since 2017. Current photojournalist at KSTU TV (Fox 13) and host of the Utah Beer Blog and Beer Nerd Radio on KUAA 99.9 FM radio.
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