Beer Tasting: SweetWater IPA

Today's beer tasting comes courtesy of Atlanta Georgia's SweetWater Brewing Co.'s IPA.  A friend of mine who lives down south in Alabama sent me this SweetWater IPA in a "care package" trade a couple weeks ago, and I've been saving this SweetWater IPA for a review.

The bottle of SweetWater IPA reads "Don't Float the Mainstream", and I believe this beer has proven an excellent mainstream beer exit excuse for many people.  After tasting some fairly high ABV IPAs recently, I was happy to see that SweetWater IPA is "only" 6.3%.  But along with that 6.3% are quite a few different hop strains that render this beer a tasty treat.  SweetWater IPA is made with Chinook, Cascade, and Columbus hops and finished with Simcoe and US Golding.  

I feel SweetWater IPA would have mass appeal for someone who hasn't really delved deep into craft beer waters, yet wants to wade into hop tasting.  Here is a video made from SweetWater that does a good job describing what SweetWater IPA is all about. 

Here is a picture of my SweetWater IPA.

SweetWater Brewing Company: IPA

ABV: 6.3%

Style: American IPA

Rating: Score of 89/100 on Beeradvocate.com pver 2,709 reviews

SweetWater IPA pours a hazy light amber in color with a white head of foam.  The smell is a moderate citrus and weak pine.  The taste of SweetWater IPA is just a tad bit sweet at first, followed by a considerable variety of hops in the middle, some nice citrus, and just a wee bit of bitter aftertaste.  You do get some malt sweetness, but not a great deal.  SweetWater IPA is definitely not overpowering at all, and really quite drinkable.  I did not detect much alcohol burn, and yet at 6.3% ABV SweetWater IPA will certainly make an impact on your swimming lesson.  SweetWater IPA has average mouthfeel and not too much carbonation.

I would recommend SweetWater IPA for someone who doesn't crave an extremely powerful double IPA yet still desires a well-hopped beer consisting of a full spectrum of flavors.