Sly Fox 113 IPA

Sly Fox 113 IPA, Craft Brewed in Pennsylvania. Royersford, to be exact.

12 ounce can, sent to me by Mr. John S. "Woody" Chandler, of LNC, PA. This gentleman, a former sailor and current schoolteacher, is known to those in the beer community far and wide for his sense of adventure, his puckish grin and wily eyebrows, his wiry red beard, and that monk's robe he wears at beer festivals in the heat of summer. He's currently in the midst of an epic survey of canned beers (has recently surpassed 400) and sent me a sextet of Sly Fox to match the Surlys I sent his way.

"This complex beer is brewed wit a variety of British, German, and Pacific Northwest hops. Every sip will remind you just why you fell in love with craft beer in the first place. OG 16.4 Plato. 113 IBUs, Alc. 7% by Vol."

113, really? Okay, this is going to be fun!

Highly hazed, deep bronze color, slim beige head, settles as a tight ring.

Aroma, deep, dank, herbal, and raw. Big hop attack, some pine, some citrus, and the English hops are showing their side, definitely. An intriguing mix, one you don't encounter often. A little butterscotch and toffee, too. Soft, and surprisingly sweet. Much malt in the mix.

Taste: Bitter and herbal, with a hearty malt backbone. Apples and cherries, with citrus in the background, pine is there, too, but faded, in the distance. Slightly grassy.

Why did I fall in love with craft beer in the first place? Hops. Hops in English ales, and then hops in American pale ales and IPAs, west coast or English IPAs. I've loved them all, and here they are together as one.

Does that work? Well, this one doesn't really shine or sing like a 113 IBU IPA should, doesn't spank the tongue in a feverish fashion. Much malt below does it's work, and I'm not sure if the cocktail of hops really delivers. Perhaps I'm too used to English ales that are just so, or American IPAs that smack of citrus and pine. This is a bit muddied, some of those flavors I yearn for are missing, or in the back, just a ghost, competing with the English and German hops character.

Medium bodies, soft, light hoppy finish.

Despite those criticisms, it's a good 'un, and I'd drink it once in a while id I were in PA, but it just doesn't trip my trigger.