Red Rock - Why So Serious?: A very hazy, and maybe even cloudy, orange body reveals golden highlights at the base of the glass, while the head is a large cap of creamy off-white foam. The aroma offers a bready malt and citrusy, floral, resinous and tropical notes; I'm specifically getting some passionfruit, pomelo, orange, pine, nectarine, pineapple and alcohol. There's something unusual about it, but I can't quite put my finger on it yet.
The flavor opens up and widens with an interesting woody and almost vanilla-like note before the fruit steps forward—apricots, passionfruit, berries, grapefruit, peach and orange—along with grass, pine and clove. The aroma was curious, but the flavor was really interesting. I'm still not sure what's going on, but it has a kind of creamsicle character to it. The alcohol is clearly present, but it doesn't go beyond what I expect and appreciate in a beer of 10.0 percent ABV; the bitterness is held back, allowing the malt and creamy fruitiness to linger a little longer and without distraction.
Thinking of the name "Why So Serious?" I think Red Rock is talking directly to me. Does craft beer have to be such a serious thing? Am I too serious about my suds? Definitely not the latter, though regarding the former, yeah, beer is kind of a big part of my life, so I'm guilty, I guess. But back to the beer itself, in the mouth it's medium-full in body and surprisingly creamy and smooth.
Verdict: The sweetness is fairly restrained, and the alcohol does appear to be well-masked, which ups its drinkability. That, alongside the nice tropical flavors, makes this a nice option to get you to your happy place sooner rather than later.
Fisher - West Coast IPA: Pours a pale, cloudy peach hue with some fluffy, frothy whitish head that coalesces down into a more manageable and firm puck floating on the top of the aromatic liquid below, with nice lacing on my Mason jar-style mug. An immense hoppy aroma is full of citrus rind, floral perfume, tropical fruit juice and pine needles, plus a subtle sweetness almost like old-time candy cigarettes. Citric, floral, assertive yet not abrasive, almost cleansing in a way.
As for the taste, I do not dole out perfect scores very often; in fact, this is not one of those times, but it comes very close. It's comfortably medium-bodied and supremely smooth with gentle carbonation and incredible drinkability for a 7.6 percent beer. Brilliant heavy-duty marmalade citrus flavors come through—lots of tangerine, grapefruit and lime—with a little sour lemon and green banana in the finish, along with further pineapple, papaya and nectarine notes. So much rind and resin pop out, yet nothing coarse and astringent. There's a perfect sublime hop balance, while bready honeyed malts also make their presence felt (although the citrus fruit keeps wrestling away my attention).
Brace yourself for the finish: peppery resins and a huge pine bite, although again, somehow the beer falls just short of too much bitterness, reining itself back towards a reassuring citrus/tropical vibe that one could exult in for days, liver permitting.
Verdict: The aroma of this beer really shows off the amount of hopping going into it. But the most noticeable thing about this IPA is how dry it finishes. I wouldn't say it finishes clean, since there is a decent amount of hop resin on the tongue afterwards, but it finishes so dry I'm ready to take another sip. I want to pair this with some really spicy gumbo.
The delivery method for both of these very different IPAs is in 16-ounce cans. You'll find Fisher's West Coast IPA under their new Rotating IPA Series at the brewery to-go only. Why So Serious? can be found at all Red Rock locations. As always, cheers!