I ran down to Roughtail last week to pick up a couple of four packs of the newest Adaptation, batch eight in the series of unique IPA offerings. Flaked oats and wheat should contribute to mouthfeel, with Idaho 7, Calypso and Simcoe hops utilized for that fruity juiciness we’ve come to crave from Adaptation. I wasn’t able to brave the line for the Coconut Vanilla version, unfortunately, but couldn’t resist a few four packs.

Company: Roughtail Brewing Co.

Location: Midwest City, OK

ABV: 8%

Style/Description: American Style IPA

Price: $16 per four pack of 16 oz cans

Appearance: Pours a cloudy light copper, almost opaque, with a nice head and sticky lace.

Nose: Orange juice and pineapple aroma, with light grassy tones. Sweet and sugary, with some vanilla notes.

Taste: Screams orange and pineapple juice upon first sip, with some harder to pin down fruit flavors hiding underneath. I get some blueberry and mango in there as well. A hint of the sweet vanilla in the aroma is present in the taste as well, with more bitter and resinous hops than in the aroma. Moderate mouthfeel, with a velvety creaminess to it. Carbonation is perfect, moderate, but smooth and very tight.

Finish: Crisp finish with the fruits clearing out and leaving the resins lingering on the palette.

Overall: Tasty beer, with the juicy tropicals we all hope for in the Adaption series. They really nailed the mouthfeel and carb on this, creamy without being flat, almost like a heavy nitro. Really a world class beer on this one, as good an offering as I can remember in the Adaptation series. Okay, it isn’t as good as Batch three, but it’s pretty close. I should have bought more!

Rating: 4.5/5