Beer Review: Smuttynose Finestkind IPA

A beer review to kick off the summer! This is probably one of my favorite beers ever; really the standard for value as far as I'm concerned. Just a note: it's not uncommon to observe sediment at the bottom of the bottle; even if it looks "chunky," it will break up when you pour it!

I poured this into an oversized wine glass and I think it did a good job of displaying the great cloudy appearance this beer has. Plenty of head  that fades pretty fast but leaves your standard creamy layer on top that keeps that aroma locked in.

Speaking of aroma... it smells resinous. The nose is all hops; oily, piney hops. You can tell how hoppy this beer will be just from its smell. It's not musty but quite crisp smelling (this bottle was pretty fresh).

Let me say here that because of the taste, this beer is my favorite single IPA. You obviously get the huge hops upfront but this beer is more than the hops. Some citrus flavors make their way through; definitely grapefruit and orange rind. You also have a little bit of malty sweetness though I wouldn't say it has a strong malt grounding at all... the main attraction here is the hops! Bold and perfectly melded flavors.

The body and mouthfeel are just about par for the course for an IPA; nothing surprising, just no nonsense goodness.

At $8.99/sixer this beer is a much better deal than almost every worthwhile IPA. Absolutely my go to beer when I can find it in Chicago and it's available widely in NE. Kudos to smuttynose for an outstanding beer.

Score: A+ 5/5