I have been following Backlash since the inception of the brewery. I sat down with these visionary brewers a week before their first bottle hit the shelves roughly a year ago. Since their launch Backlash Beer Company have made a huge splash in the Boston’s craft beer community as have their beers.
Backlash Beer Company has an impressive portfolio of tasty Belgian inspired beers, though they are not bound to this style of brewing. The 4 beer Apocalypse Series from this brewer showcases their creativity and diversity as brewers. The series includes Conquest a white IPA, WAR a rye Farmhouse Ale and Famine a unique single malt single hop Tripel. It seems we will have to wait to see what the 4th beer of the series will be because with summer upon us Backlash Beer Company have released an IIPA.
Salute from Backlash Beer Company is a bold entry into an already crowded category of beer. It seems every brewer has an IIPA these day, as I said in my last column a lot of them are not doing it right. Backlash Beer Company are not only doing it right they are bringing it to the next level.
Salute looks and pours, as you would expect an IIPA to. There is a slightly orange hue to this golden amber beer that plays off the thick white head nicely. The aroma of this ale pulls you right into summer, there are touches of citrus, pineapple and tropical fruits in the nose with a touch of pine.
The flavor of this beer is amazing. Hops are dancing around my mouth, there is a wonderful grapefruit flavor that is being balanced out by an impressive malt backbone. The malt hides the alcohol well but make no mistake when you are drinking Salute you know you are drinking a big beer. The finish of this beer is incredibly dry, I say this with a huge smile on my face. I hate sticky or syrupy IIPAs.
There is no sophomore slump for this startup from Boston. Salute can stand side by side with any IIPA on the market, I don’t want to mention the hordes of IIPAs this beer blows away. I am excited to see what Backlash does next, hopefully they are getting back to work on the Apocalypse Series and beyond.