Oliphant Yara India Pale Ale

Oliphant Yara India Pale Ale. 6.8% ABV. Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, Wisconsin.

Here we have the sixth Oliphant beer I've tapped at Acadia Cafe. Took these notes after finishing an afternoon shift. I can't do reviews of the beers we have on tap on the three days I close for several reasons: it's dark, the chairs are up on the bar, and I'm usually in a rush to catch a train or a bus home. (And I don't review before I start work, because I just don't drink before work.) I used to review beers after bar close at my old place, the Blue Nile, because we didn't put the stools up (gets in the way for taking pictures), and there were no windows, so no one could see what I'm doing after bar close.

Yara is also one of four IPAs brewed by Oliphant that make reference to a 4-issue comic book series published in 2015 by Black Mask Press and going by the name of Space Riders. They all feature Galaxy hops, because, duh, and one other. Capitan Peligro was another one of those, named for the one-eyed son-of-a-bitch who pilots the badass Skullship Santa Muerte, which is the third IPA, and I may have sampled it, but not reviewed. Pretty sure I never got to taste the one named for Mono, the baboon first mate of the SS SM.


I felt compelled to check out this book myself, since it was inspired by the cosmic artwork of Jack "King" Kirby from the pages of Thor, Fantastic Four, and other Silver Age classics. That's a pretty easy in for me, and I was glad when I finally got my hands on the collected hardcover that the volume was dedicated to Kirby.

So, I'm in the middle of my second reading of issue #2, and something leaps out at me. Capitan (don't call him "Captain") Peligro asks Mono to share his story, and when the baboon tells of finding a holy book while in prison, I couldn't believe what I saw on the cover. Is that the Oliphant logo? Could it be? I mean, it just might

be any old elephant skull on the cover of an ancient tome, right? I asked Matt, who hadn't noticed it either. Perhaps artist Alexis Zerritt and writer Fabian Rangel, Jr. are secret Oliphant fans, but it's probably just coincidence. A crazy, cosmic coincidence.

But enough about the strange things I'm seeing behind four-color comic books, let's look at the IPA with Galaxy and Citra hops named for the kick-ass robot named Yara who joins in the Capitan and Mono's adventures. Notes, ahoy!




Clear, bright golden color, with a thick full, creamy white head.

In the nose: bursting with citrus, lemon and lime, and orange and grapefruit aplenty. Potent deployment of piney notes, too. Mmmm. Alright, now.

Let's drink it: Bright, so bright, and citrus-y. Big bitterness, bit citrus, while smooth and drinkable. Light bodied, full flavored. Juicy, too, juicy and bitter. Just the way I love an IPA.