Fulton's Sweet Child of Vine IPA is on tap at the Nile, at last. The beer has been around for a year and a half, I think. The earliest reviews I can find are from February, 2010, but I know they first released it in October, 2009. Why would all of beergeekdom wait so many months to tag their feelings on this new local brewing concern? (They weren't a brewery then, getting their stuff contract-brewed in Wisconsin, and the new brewery downtown is still not quite ready to go.)
I took my first notes in August of last year, on tap at another bar, Acadia Cafe. Here they are:
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Lightly hazed, amber/bronze appearance, lean beige head, leaves lace.
Aroma is soft,herbal,floral....pleasing drizzle of hop character, nothing too bitter, at all. Very likeable.
Taste: Easy delivery of hops up, down and over the palate. Sweet malt backbone, a touch of caramel, and toffee....bit of bitter, touch of fruit, but not the usual suspects. This is definitely not an American IPA, as listed here, for it lacks the character of American hops, no citrus or pine, but plenty of earthy, herbal, other-fruity-ness, ...apples, pear, maybe...more in line with an English IPA. Bitterness plays it light, folds into the malty flavor.
One thing this is, is tasty. There is flavor aplenty. It's not over the top, it's not a bombast of bitterness, it's an even-handed, mild, drinkable English-style IPA.69 IBUs....that's about right. The hop smack is there, and best yet, you can drink it. Sometimes, that is very important.
I will continue to drink and enjoy this beer. Don't go into it, though, thinking it's something it isn't, as some do.
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