We’re in St. Joseph, Michigan for a long weekend trip, and had dinner at The Buck Burgers & Brew. They’ve got quite a number of local craft beers on tap, and after having the Looping Owl from Right Brain, I thought I’d have an IPA. I’d never heard of this brewery, and the name sounded interesting, so I thought I’d give it a try.
Location: On tap and served in a tumbler style pint glass at The Buck Burgers & Brew in St. Joseph, MI.
Numbers: 7.25% ABV, 65 IBUs, ~220 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s bright yellow in color and super clear, looking almost like a regular lager. It has a thin, creamy, bright white head, which left some decent lacing on the glass. The aroma is mostly floral hops with some light grassiness in the background.
Taste & Feel: The body is medium and the mouthfeel is creamy with a bit of a hop bite of crispness. Up front, there’s a light maltiness with some grassy hop flavors. The bitterness kicks in during the middle, with a fair amount of grassiness. The finish is a mix of grassy and floral hop flavors and bitterness with some citrusy hop flavors in the background. The aftertaste is mostly the grassy bitterness, which lasts for a minute or two.
Food Pairing: This was a good beer to enjoy with my mushroom and swiss burger, as the floral and grassiness mixed well with the earthy flavors of the mushroom and swiss cheese.
Overall Impression: I haven’t seen an IPA this golden in a while, but it didn’t lack any hoppiness because of it. I do prefer, however, a little bit of a carmel malt backbone. This was a decent IPA with plenty of grassy hop flavor and bitterness. It went perfectly with my burger, and was nice for a warm summer day like this one. Overall, it was pretty good, and I hope I can try more beers from this brewery.
My Rating: 
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