THE LAST BEER!
So here we are... the final beer! It's been a long, arduous, and expensive adventure but I haven't regretted it for a minute. It's broadened my horizons and developed my palette, ruining my perception of mainstream beer, but left me a better man for it. The final beer is a handmade limited run IPA from a local brewery. At $16 a pop I figure I can't go wrong!
The 'Rare Breed' pours a toffee/amber colour with enough haze to rival the LA skyline. A huge, creamy, expansive head explodes to the surface before very slowly beginning it's descent, but never entirely vanishing from sight. Coincidentally, the feel of the beer actually mirrors this perfectly. The texture is surprisingly creamy, and starts with a bang before the tide begins to recede and allows the flavours to shift to the forefront. There is the obvious dominance of hops, but also some vanilla sweetness and tangy fruits. The bitterness is restrained, but this is fine, because the supporting flavours are fantastic. It's still hoppy enough to solidify itself as a strong IPA, but a lot smoother than the majority of other examples of this breed.
I know it was expensive, but really it sits on a whole other level to what most people imagine when they think of 'beer'. Mass production, as it has in near everything, really drains the soul out of beer. Sure, huge vats and monstrous batches lower your 'cost per unit' and allow you to 'maximise profits'... but turning art into a number is a crime in itself. Unless it's forced in to my hand, I won't be going back there. I'm happy to pay a little extra for something made by man, rather than machine. This was a fitting beer to symbolise the biggest learning point of this whole exercise. I'll try and do a wrap up soon, and might even keep doing reviews on new beers I come across down the line. But for now, it's time to close the curtain, but thanks for watching!
9/10
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