Well, there are not too many Florida references I enjoy, but this week, a brewery from outside Chicago takes us there, and I am here for it. However, before we get to the beer, let’s talk about the brewery. Go Brewing from Naperville, IL, came up out of nowhere and was all of a sudden the primary subject of friends and colleagues sending me pictures with the text “Have you tried this yet?” First, the answer was yes, but second, the question to the question was, “Which one?” As a relatively new brewery in the NA space, Go Brewing is coming out of the gate with a list of hits, and it’s freaking crazy!
Sunshine State Tropical IPA from Go Brewing
This week, we are drinking Sunshine State Tropical IPA from Go Brewing. I do enjoy a good variation on an IPA, so long as it is a good variation. With tropical IPAs, the truth is that they can go to many places. It’s a delicate road to walk between a pure fruit beer, a sour, or an IPA with a weird aftertaste. As far as standards go, I am expecting a brightly colored yellow-orange with a heavy aroma or tropical fruits and hops that also match the flavor profile.
How Does It Look? How Does It Smell?
When we crack the brightly colored can, the scent is tropical right off the bat. It fills the air around me, and I am transported to an island full of mangos and pineapple. What’s not on this island? Hops. With such a lack of hop aroma, I begin sniffing the can opening like a sommelier trying to find tannins in a wine bottle. Go Brewing seems to be burying the lead, which is the base of this beer, and that is the hoppiness. Everything else so far is spot on, including the bright colors emanating from the glass as I pour this tropical treat into the glass. Another sniff, and not many hops.
How Does It Taste?
When the Sunshine State Tropical IPA tickles the ivories of my face hole, I am overwhelmed with tropical tastiness. Most of all, there is a blast of pineapple juice. Luckily, I love pineapple juice, and I love this fruity burst. Still, it overpowers other flavors, leaves the subtle hoppy flavor on the outskirts of my tongue, and nearly drowns out the different flavors, such as mango. The mouthfeel is light and crisp and easily crushable.
Untappd gives Sunshine State Tropical IPA by Go Brewing a 3.7 out of 5, and I am inclined to agree. If this was a pineapple lager or pineapple blonde, I might even bump it up into the low-mid 4’s, but as an IPA variation, I would have liked a bit of hop action. Either way, I am excited to bring more Go Brewing to this page, and I love seeing the variations they are throwing out right out of the gate!
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