Review: Ass-Kicker IPA by Garrison Brewing Co.
Garrison Brewing Co. (Halifax, NS)
A few months ago my dad went to Halifax on business and, knowing his daughter well, went and visited the Garrison Brewing Co. which was near his hotel. He bought me a few goodies, mainly a sample 6-pack of their beers, a wonderful hoodie and Ass-Kicker, which unknown to him, was a specialty beer that just got released that day. Talk about luck, eh?
Described as the beer that's so right when everything went wrong, apparently the making of this beer went through a number of problems (loose clamp, stuck fermentation, hop substitution, chilling problems...). The bottle is cute, with the label attached to the bottle with a rubber band and the text upside down.
So it's been sitting in my fridge since then and yesterday I thought, hell, I should open this up. And here we are.
COLOUR: Deep honey orange. Thin white head.
AROMA: Really heavy marmalade aroma with orange peel behind it glaring at you. Hint of vanilla mingling around the party and the citrus notes of the cascade hops is standing in the corner working up the nerve to say something.
TASTE: Just like in the aroma, the marmalade is the star of the show with it's friend the orange rind. Quite bitter with a warmth brought on by the grains. Vanilla slowly sweeps things up at the end. Aftertaste is quite bitter but warmth is left over.
VERDICT: Quite tasty beer! Definitely an IPA suited for Spring/Fall where the weather is in between freezing and boiling.