Well, to be perfectly honest, it’s about 1:30am here in Texas as I write this review, so perhaps good morning is a more accurate greeting and salutation.
As I lay in bed I found it hard to quiet my mind, so I thought what better opportunity to play some western swing (not to be confused with country music) and write a review of one of the many beers that made the trip west with me on my return from a recent trip to Atlanta.
A majority of the selection that came home with me, including tonight’s selection were brewed by Jailhouse Brewing Company, a relatively young brewery set up in an old jail located in Henderson, GA, south of Atlanta.
Looking for a more hop forward offering, I passed up a wheat and saison styled beer for a bomber of their Mugshot IPA, with an ABV of 6.7%.
Decanting the beer into a stylish Captain America pint glass, the beer exhibits a pale tangerine color. Clarity is on the cloudy side, and offers moderate carbonation and a healthy, white, half finger head.
The beverage’s offerings on the aroma front are unquestionably hop forward, presenting the drinker with floral and citrus notes that sit front and center. Around the edges of the front line aromas, there are accents of grass and dough.
Hop centric flavors carry, as expected by the aroma and style, on the palate. The frontend of flavor, as in the nose, is floral and grapefruit in nature in a medium full presence, matching the mouthfeel and bitterness also present in the beverage. Augmenting this duo there is a twang of orange zest and a very light malt sweetness that leaves a pleasant, dry finish.
While this beer isn’t earth moving, it is a very strong, well-brewed example of the style. A lot of wonderful, complex, and balanced expression of the flavors available from hops without beating the palate to death with bitterness.
I brew and drink beer, smoke pipes and cigars, eat till I’ve had more than my fill, and escape in pulp rags till my eyes turn buggy. I don’t claim any expertise in any subject other than the chase of my own earthly pleasures. I write to help others find their own pleasures so that together we will decay in spirit with these lesser pursuits.