Mongo
On tap @ Port Brewing/Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA) on 3/21/10. Served in a pint glass. Pours a clear copper, with a thin covering of smooth bright-white head. This stays rich around the edges, throwing a huge foamy cascade of lacing all up on the sides of the glass. The aroma is HUGELY hoppy in the nose, being very floral, spicy, resinous smelling, with a TON of sweet tropical fruits. Mango, pineapple, apricots, and a touch of bitter grapefruit are all standing out at me. Some malty notes of bread and caramel hang around in the back but ultimately just play a distant second to the hop activity going on here in the nose. Awesome aroma here. The taste pretty much matches the taste gulp for sniff. This is literally an orgy of hoppiness going on here in the mouth, with pine resins, citrus rind, and spice, all slathering the mouth with a stiff bitterness. Luckily, there is a rich undercurrent of tropical fruits and silky caramel malts that glide underneath, really bringing some well done balancing sweetness to the table. As you expect in the finish, there is plenty of spicy dryness left over that really parches the back of the throat after each sip. Just so much hop flavor here but that balance ensures that things don't go overboard. The mouthfeel is medium-fuller bodied, with a big sharp creaminess to the carbonation that actually stays fairly smooth on the palate thanks to a sub-texture of oily slickness. There is some beefy warmth felt but this never gets hot at all, helping keep this very drinkable. Another awesomely flavorful and drinkable hop-bomb here out of the Port Brewing portfolio. There is a LOT of sweetness here (which reminded me of an East Coast Style IPA) but the giant West Coast hop profile on this was just too much to ignore. This was almost like a perfect meeting of the middle between the two. Great IPA here that I probably (against my better judgment) could have put a few more down of.