5 / 5
Two Roots - Straight Drank IPA
Two Roots Brewing Co is based in San Diego and this IPA won a bronze medal at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival. Straight Drank comes in a 355 ml can. Their beers are created using a dealcoholisation process and results in there being less than 0.5 % ABV. As well as malt and hops (Eureka! and Comet) the listed ingredients include natural terpenes. Me neither, so I looked it up. Terpenes occur naturally, mainly in plants, particularly conifers. They are also to be found in hops so I'm not sure why it is noted as a separate ingredient. Perhaps it's an American labelling law thing? Whatever, the beer is decidedly opaque in appearance and when poured creates a billowing persistent white head. The aroma is massive - full-on tropical fruits, particularly passion fruit, mango and with a lemon edge. The taste is equally as big and complex, a well combined mixture of pine, blackcurrant and pineapple with a big hit of bitterness that means the finish has a real bite to it. Let's hear it for terpenes, my new favourite ingredient.