Roughtail is wearing me out, banging out hop bomb Pale Ales right and left. I hope you were in line on September 30th at 4pm as only 60 cases were produced of this one and it sold out quickly despite strict limits. So this is the base beer for Everything Rhymes with Orange, but made with “100% harvest-fresh Citra, flown from the fields in Yakima direct to our brewery, less than 24 hours from harvest to kettle, and then we fermented it with an infamous yeast from Vermont.” Whoa! Don’t tell anyone, but I’m pretty sure this was fermented with Heady Topper yeast.
Company: Roughtail Brewing Co.
Location: Midwest City, OK
ABV: 7.8%
IBUs: 48
Style/Description: American India Pale Ale
Price: $12.00 per four pack of 16 oz cans
Appearance: Pours a hazy orange straw, with a light head and tenacious lace clinging to the glass.
Nose: Big time citrus fruits, oranges, grapefruits, kiwis and even a little lemon zest. A bit of sweet hay and woody notes.
Taste: Unsurprisingly, being 100% Citra, the sweet citrus and stone fruits shine, with oranges, peaches, pineapple and mangoes at the fore. I almost want to pour a little rum in here and sit on the beach. Soft pillowy mouthfeel, moderate carb, and enough dank bitterness to slightly tame the sweetness of the fruity esters.
Finish: Clean, dry finish with some of the tropicals and hint of the bitter resins remaining to coat the tongue.
Overall: I can’t believe that as I’m drinking this the hops were on the vine mere hours ago. I’m enjoying this on the afternoon of October 1st, and I can even tell a slight decrease in the sweet tropical from the can I drank last night. We debated reviewing a beer that was brewery only and lasted only a few hours, but decided that this type of release is part of what makes craft beer fun, and we should enjoy it! Take off work a little early next time y’all!
Rating: 4/5
