Ithaca Brewing Co.
Ithaca, NY
A clover-honey hued IPA with a tropical nose. Flower Power is simultaneously punchy and soothing, with a big body, and boasts of a fruity finish. Flower Power is hopped and dry hopped five times in the brewing process.
ABV: 7.5
ABW: N/A
COLOR: N/A
BITTERNESS: N/A
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: N/A
AVAILABLE: CT, MA, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI
A buoyant blast of grapefruit, pine and meadow grass comes out to greet me as I bring the glass to my face, with an undercurrent of fresh, bready malt. I’ve smelled bigger IPAs, but this one’s well-blended. There’s no electric shock of hops in the mouth, just a solidly medium body and those hop aromas continued in flavor, and a bitter baseline that never, ever quits, buzzing right into the finish and beyond. Rare cheeseburger time.
This hazy gold ale is not shy on the hop aroma notes, with abundant florals alongside spicy pine and spruce boughs. The flavor, however, is almost reticent in comparison, with a faintly appley front and a more assertive, but still not dominating, hop presence in the medium-weight body. It is only in the finish that the piney, tropical fruity promise of the aroma is realized, and then a bit harshly. I like the hop combination here, but think that better malt complexity might make things a bit more interesting.
Lew Bryson writes about beer and whiskey from his home in southeast Pennsylvania. He has a family and two dogs. That’s all you need to know.
Once described as “beerdom’s Brillat-Savarin,” Stephen Beaumont is the co-author of The World Atlas of Beer, five other books, and countless articles on beer, spirits, food, and how it all goes together.
