Blue Collar Beer Review #3: Widmer Bros. Rotator Series: Falconer's IPA

 

   Widmer Bros. has begun a line of experimental IPA's billed The Rotator Series.  The idea is to express their home brewer tendencies.  The series first started off with the X-114 IPA, which, sadly I failed to snag up.  The second release, and the subject of tonight's review is the Falconer's IPA.  The aptly named IPA showcases the recently developed and released Falconer's Flight hops.

   Falconer's Flight is a hop pellet, a blend of several varietals of signature West Coast hops, a composite designed as a tribute to the late Northwest brewing icon, Glen Hay Falconer and the Glen Falconer Foundation, a non-profit organization which commemorates Mr. Falconer, and also gives scholarships to aspiring brewers.  The blend was created by Hopunion, LLC, a large, multi-grower company that produces a vast array of hops specifically for the craft beer industry.  A portion of the sales of the hops also goes to support the Glen Falconer Foundation.

   The hops were also used in Maritime's Decompression Ale, the commemorative beer of the 2011 Seattle Beer Week (I hope to try this as well if there's any more to be had).

Widmer Bros. Rotator Series: Falconer's IPA

12oz bottle, 7% ABV

Appearance: Deep, fairly dark amber, with a light white head.

Aroma: Green, resinous hops with a trace of citrus. Sweet and slightly musty.

Mouthfeel: Nothing special, just clean and refreshing.  Good body for the style.

Taste: Very bitter, and good vegetal.  Slightly resinous with citrus undertones.

Overall: A simple, well crafted, to-style IPA.  It really showcases the Falconer's Flight hops, which I was eager to experience.  Given the composition of the Falconer's Flight hop, I was expecting more citrus 'C' hop flavor than is found. However, there's no disappointment here.  There's nothing overly special about this brew, just a clean, well-made (as usual) beer from Widmer Bros.  The bitterness is just right, it is almost too much, rides the line between awesome and flaw.  Just when you're about to think maybe they over did it, it fades and you're left thinking "Ahhh!"  I greatly look forward to the next release in the series, but this also makes me disappointed that I didn't grab a bottle of the first release, the X-114 IPA.  Maybe it can still be found...