Last night I was able to experience the taste of the Elysian Space Dust IPA from the Elysian Brewing Company out of Seattle, Washington. What do I think of this India Pale ale?

Elysian Space Dust IPA Review

STATS:

• Brewed by Elysian Brewing Company
• Alcohol content: 8.2%
• Company description: The hopping is pure starglow energy, with Chinook to bitter and late and dry additions of Citrus and Amarillo.
• Ratings on Beeradvocate.com: 4.08/5 with 2,407 ratings - 'Exceptional'

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Label

Let's face it, with the explosion of small breweries in the past 10-15 years the customer is able to choose from a wide range of beverages. While this is a good thing, it does leave us guessing when we approach that wall of bottles. One way to grab a potential sale is to have a funny name and/or label art.

With this Elysian recipe, the name is good but the art is out of this world. It looks like a space artichoke (I know its a hop, don't give me any grief) happily throwing up tiny little versions of itself in a soup of space sparkles.

Twinkle, twinkle little star takes a new meaning here. Go to sleep my child, daddy has a new beer to try.

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The Details

Appearance: When released from the bottle (or should I say spaceship?), it pours easily into a cloudy orange-amber color. It has very little in the way of carbonation and so the head is minimal.

Smell: The first and most obvious hit is an orange citrus. After that first whiff, you can sense other fruit smells in the air but I was hard-pressed to name any single one in particular. It was like walking down the fruit section in the grocery store - a bit of everything.

Taste: No surprise here, but the inital flavor is of orange. After a few more sips I certainly tasted grapefruit. I don't know if it was actual grapefruit, or just the way the bitter Chinook melds with the orange. Either way, the sides of the tip of my tongue felt the fruit flavor, while the back of my tongue got the hit of the grapefruit-like bitterness.

Mouthfeel: It is a thin, dry, and light beer. The minimal amount of carbonation only teases the tongue with fleeting hints of bubbles.

Drinkability: Without much carbonation in the way, this goes down easy. Watch out though! With the 8.2% ABV it can come up and hit you pretty fast. After downing my bottle of 1 pint, 6oz I was feeling a decent buzz setting in.

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Verdict

I have to appreciate the way they were able to make me feel alright drinking a fruit bitter beer as it is not normally my flavors of choice.

Would I get it again? Probably not, but only because it is just not my style. However, if a grapefruit-esque flavor is your thing you will most likely enjoy this offering.

3.25/5