I am somehow getting a reputation as a beer blogger worth knowing. Maybe it’s just because I’m willing to write about beers that are sent to me by the brewers or PR people. As I say, I never turn down a free beer. But I know simply that I’ve gotten on quite a few email lists with information on craft beers and events way outside of my Chicago beat. I also get invitations to film festivals and celebrity meet & greets in distant cities, too, but that’s the nature of mailing lists.
So in February I got a friendly email from Highland Brewing Co. of Asheville, NC. They were announcing the release of a new year-round beer, Daycation IPA, along with an invitation to the beer’s unveiling at the brewery’s event center. I RSVP’d that I was unlikely to flit out there, but that I’d be happy to talk up their beers when they distribute in the Chicago or NW Indiana market. As yet, they’re no closer than Ohio and Kentucky. But I’ve been sent a bottle of their Daycation anyway.
Daycation is described as a lower gravity IPA (4.9% abv), with added White Wheat, Flaked Oats in the malt bill, and a hop bill with Mosaic, Citra, El Dorado & Azacca (40 IBU).
The beer pours a slightly different color than most IPAs; more brass to it while others are gold or slightly orange. The head is fizzy and dwindles quickly. The hops give this a complex nose, something like grapefruit and tobacco leaf, with just a touch of pine.
The taste is light on the malt, but I do think I get a bit of spice from the wheat, or it’s melding with the hop bitterness. And the bitter is foremost in the hops here, but not overloaded. The overall effect is a crisp beer that’s not overly filling. The grepefruit impression returns midway through, though there’s also a very hint of pizza dough. Not enough to suggest leftover yeast, but just another part of the way it’s meant to taste.
This is, yes, a “session” beer, but it almost sets off almost any main course with meat or grilled vegetables.
It also means, of course, that I ever happen to be in that area, this would be one of the tap rooms on my list to visit.
