“Brewed For Us.” Well, “us” must be grapefruit lovers, because that’s exactly what this IPA smells like right out of the bottle. Dry hopped to reach 65 IBU’s and a bit towards vicious at 7.2% alk, the look of it is a lot towards amber and not so pale. Hailing from Grand Rapids in Michigan, this is a step up from the Founder’s All-Day IPA, and commensurately more expensive.
However, that extra moolah missing from your card all goes towards better beer, and this one is a good investment in personal happiness. Great balance between body and hoppy, and by now you know i love a heavier body in an IP-whatever. No disappointment here. Hops are strong, and the label doesn’t mention it, but deducing from the beer’s name, i’d guess they used the Centennial species of hops, no?
Too alky for a Summer beer, otherwise the taste is g-fruity enough for that job. Label says it’s unfiltered, which is ALWAYS a good sign in an IPA: it means they’re conscious more about the taste than the presentation. And true enough, there are tiny floaty things in there and they taste like hopticles.
I think this is an excellent beer, and the local shop has a few more varieties of Founders stuff. Liked their All-Day IPA, but it didn’t inspire me to try more of their stuff. This does. I don’t think it’s going to dislodge one of the Top Five in the Pantheon of IPA’s, but this has Top Ten written all over my tongue. An even 9.0 is awarded, and hey, i’m not one of those jackasses who levies all ratings within a point of 7 just to be nice.
Take into account that i normally deduct score for high alcohol content, except for double-IPA’s where that’s expected. So in this case, a 9.0 is a very substantial rating. Founders should be proud. You should drink this.