Surly Impossible Objects IPA

 Surly Impossible Objects IPA. 

7 % ABV. Surly Brewing, Twin Cities, MN

Here's one from the current Hop Pack. Juicy India Pale Ale, it says on the side.  Soft, juicy, hoppy, it goes on to say. . Untappd labels it a New England IPA. Let's see what that's all about. 

Fairly hazy,  bright golden hue, and with far too many floating particulates for me to be comfortable with. Downright disgusting. This can isn't old enough to have this sort of problem. 

In the nose: slightly citric, minimal hoppiness...eh. 

In the mouth: Some small bitterness on the palate, mostly mild, and, yeah, "soft"....I tell you, I'm sick of "soft". A touch of juicy, but at this point it's just a buzzword.  Soft and juicy...sheesh. Appallingly milquetoastian. Citrus snaps out and slaps the palate, the quickly crawls back, slinks away....

Medium bodied, long finish...and just kind of weak. Blasé'. I expect more from Surly. Or, more accurately, I used to...

Patterns upon patterns and layers on top of layers, each building on one another to create a seemingly impossible object. That was our goal with this new juicy IPA. Impossible Objects features zero hops in the kettle, relying instead on Sabro, El Dorado, Citra, and Amarillo dry-hopping to build a new vision of the IPA—massive hop flavor with almost no bitterness. Impossible? We object.

I object to the notion of the bitter-less IPA. And, yes, that is the hill I will die on. Why are we still calling it an IPA if we are striving to drive it away from what an IPA is? "New Vision"? You kids get off of my lawn!