We just spent the morning at Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan, and finally decided to take a break and get some lunch. There’s a place right near the beach named Silver Beach Pizza, and Yelp reviews looked pretty good so we decided to give it a try. The atmosphere was nice, and we had a seat next to the window, where a passenger train went by while we ate. They had a few local beers on tap and in bottles, and I’d had this one before, and wanted to make sure I got a chance to review it. This picture was taken while I was waiting on a glass to pour this into.
Location: Served in the 12oz glass at Silver Beach Pizza in St. Joseph, Michigan.
Numbers: 7.7% ABV, 96 IBUs, ~230 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It was golden-orange in color with a little bit of haze to it. The head was a finger-thick and creamy with decent retention and lacing. The aroma was bold with all citrusy hops.
Taste & Feel: The body is medium-to-full and the mouthfeel is fairly crisp from the carbonation and hops. Up front, it was a resinous-citrsy hop sweetness, almost like a hop juiciness. There was a caramel maltiness that steps forward in the middle, matching the resinous hop flavor and bitterness. In the finish, it’s bitter from hops with a bready, malty background that almost reminds me of Fat Tire. The aftertaste is mostly a resinous bitterness that lasts for a couple minutes.
Food Pairing: This beer went great with the pizza, as the hop flavors and bitterness matched nicely with the cheese on the pizza. I think this beer would also pair well with a cheeseburger – since the bready malts would complement the bun and the hop flavors would contrast with the beef and cheese.
Overall Impression: This beer has a very good mix of hop flavors, bitterness, and maltiness. I really enjoyed the sweet, hop juice like flavors up front, the mix of resin and citrusy hops, as well as the bready flavors from the malts. The bready malty backbone is what stands out for me in both Fat Tire and in this beer, and I really like it. Overall, I thought this was an excellent IPA and I’m definitely going to have to pick up more to bring back with me next time I’m in Michigan.
My Rating: 
Reader Ratings[five-star-rating]
