Backhanded Compliment - Elysian Brewing Company

flagmantho

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

I had this beer on-tap at WABL Belgianfest 2013 in a snifter taster glass.

Appearance: medium golden hue with plenty of haze, enough so that I can't see the effervescence. Head is a nice layer of ivory foam. Looks good!

Smell: super bright citrusy, grapefruit, tangerine ... love it! There is one little drawback, and that is that something in the aroma is just a little bit homebrew-y. Hard to describe, but I feel it detracts a little bit from the experience.

Taste: there's a nice sweetness to the malt; it's quite tasty. Great hop flavors of tangerine and grapefruit come through from the aroma, but aren't quite as strong. There's a nice chalkiness that I like, but the bitterness from the hops is a little bit raspy and out-of-balance. Taking this down a notch would make for one smooth operator of a beer.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation; pretty decent for the style, but not great.

Overall: a tasty and drinkable Belgian IPA with a wonderful aroma. I'd definitely keep an eye out for this one again.

Serving type: on-tap

02-03-2013 20:16:23 | More by flagmantho

ccrida

Oregon

3.85/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

"Brewed in the tradition of American-hopped Belgian ales brewed in the tradition of American IPAs brewed with Belgian yeast - got it. Brewed with organic pale, Munich, Cara-Hell and Cara-Vienne malts and bittered with Chinook and finished with Amarillo and Citra hops. Fermented with Westmalle yeast. Alcohol 6.2% by volume."

On draught at Elysian Fields, Backhanded Compliment is gold with a creamy white head that leaves nice lace.

Smell is a bit estery, the hops coming across earthy and herbal, more like nobles then the American hops cited. Definitely smells like a Belgian IPA, but more like a Hommel then an American style BIPA. Although there is a whiff of cat pee, I'm not getting any of the citrus I'd expect from amarillo and citra.

Taste is pretty spicy, some pine resin from the hops accentuated by the peppery yeast, a bit of banana there as well. Complex without being heavy handed, there a pretty firm malt backbone that is clearly more American IPA then Belgian, but it works.

Mouthfeel is a bit thick, malty, slick, on the drier side.

Drinkability is pretty good, a very interesting take. I'm not loving the smell, the taste is good, although I'd like more citrus and less malt.

Serving type: on-tap

01-13-2011 01:22:04 | More by ccrida