Confluence Des Moines IPA

This unobjectionable beer brings all those things that we’ve come to expect from an American IPA: juicy pineapple from afar that melds into the smell of raw hops from a distant harvest. Then there’s a sharp pineapple note tinged with a touch of gunpowder. But underneath all this, there’s a fair amount of malt coming through as a caramel sweetness. IBUs are not aggressive, but the beer finishes with a mouth-coating astringency that left me the impression I’d just chewed on bitter greens.

Ray Daniels is the founder and director of the Cicerone Certification Program and the author, editor or publisher of more than two dozen books on beer and brewing. Follow him on Twitter @Cicerone_org.

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A trip of nostalgia with edges of modern. Rich with sticky lupulin aroma, like after a hop rubbing in Yakima. There’s pine needle mixed with orange pith and zest. Then the twist: Just-underripe pineapple and a touch of the dank emerge on the finish. There’s a sweetness to the malt that adds dimension. It straddles two worlds in fine fashion. A whiff of metallic comes and goes, but doesn’t detract from the overall experience. Go classic on pairings with this one: extra-spicy wings with homemade chunky blue cheese dressing.

John Holl is the editor of All About Beer Magazine. 

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