Beer of the Week 5/14--5/20: Rivertowne Old Wylie's IPA

This week's beer of the week is Rivertowne's Old Wylie's IPA. I had the pleasure of meeting brewmaster Andrew Maxwell at a Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week event at Rivertowne's North Shore destination, which I wrote about here. Andy was quite an interesting guy and way down to earth. He shared all sorts of information about how bottling beers, brewing and deadlines can make the job stressful, but rewarding nonetheless. This particular beer was researched, developed and perfected for over ten years by Andy and drinks really well. It's extremely refreshing and I'm sure you'll find it thoroughly enjoyable during the unseasonably blistering heat we've recently been experiencing.

Photo credit: craftcans.com

The can reads:

"Andrew Maxwell put over 1.5 decades of recipe development into this India Pale Ale, creating the fourth dimension of flavor. Combining four varities [sic] of hops produces a unique beer that has an aggressive hop flavor, bite and aroma without denying the presence of malt which I.P.A.s often lack." 

Here's my review:

Appearance: clear golden orange color, with a one-finger, white head

Aroma: pine and citrus

Taste: follows nose of pine and citrus, with added topical fruit flavors. Pine dominates up front that leads into citrusy lemon and finishes with sweet, light mango and cantaloupe notes and tropical fruits. Though the can says there's noticeable malt flavors, I'm not detecting much malt presence.

Mouthfeel: standard body for an ipa, not too thick or thin, lots of carbonation and bite: which is lovely because it helps accentuate the pine and citrus hops.

Overall: This is an excellent beer for this week in particular. It will be enjoyable during the hot days with its refreshing pine and citrus flavors and strong bite. Instead of grabbing a sprite or sierra mist, I'd recommend you toward the adult cooler, where you can fish for an Old wylie's ipa.

Final Rating: 3.69

Availability: This beer is brewed year-round, so enjoy it whenever you want, regardless of how hot or cold it is. You can find it at almost any craft beer store or bar in the greater Pittsburgh area. In fact, I even found it all the way in Clarksburg, West Virginia. So grab a can, drink up, and tell me how it you like it.

Cheers,

The Bot