American Brewing Co.'s Breakaway IPA

First review, let's roll.

Right before I poured in some Apple Jacks

Picked up a frosty 22 oz'er from the brand-new Pint Defiance, a specialty beer store and taproom in Tacoma (2049 Mildred St.) after my shift, just got hired, stoked, enough commas....OK one more, now I'm done. Poured it into a "Pint Defiance" emblazoned pint glass that I also picked up. Thinking this is gonna be a pretty legit gig.


For me, a significant component to purchasing a bottle of beer is how the label grabs your attention. Clearly, it's what's inside that counts, the exterior is simply a billboard attempting to convince you. But let me just say, I appreciate a good-looking, eye-catching, and well put together label. When it comes to this one, I was stoked. I took a more detailed picture for you to enjoy/be saddened by, doesn't matter to me....

Colorful, well-designed, Steve Yzerman (probably), a badass label.

Poured into a nice caramel-bronze color with a solid finger.25 (1 finger and a quarter) head with great retention as I drank, the kind where you can measure the size of your gulps with distinct lines. It's never smart to judge a book (or beer) by it's cover. Unless you are familiar with the author (or brewer/brewery) and in this case I wasn't, proving the theory correct. But hey, regardless of a beer's quality I still appreciate a proper label. Despite the aesthetics, ABCo's Breakaway IPA didn't deliver as fully as I was hoping for. For being labeled as an IPA, it lacked in hoppiness and shared the extra room with a malty flavor and mouthfeel. Being on a current IPA binge, the taste-bud assault that a good IPA can bring was missing from this one which disappointed me slightly. Outside of my expectations, this is a quality stab at the IPA variety. Might be the simple fact that I've been craving the IPA aggressiveness lately, but in all honesty not much can be taken from ABCo's effort. Well-rounded, and unique, give it a shot.

My rating:

Love,

Jordan




ABCo's website - http://www.americanbrewing.com/