Storybook Brewing's Grapefruit IPA

One of the best beers in the city is Storybook’s Java Dragon Porter, but I’ll save that review for later. Right now I’m in the mood for one of their limited edition IPAs. This is the first time I’ve seen a grapefruit IPA on the menu, so I wanted to give it a shot. Sure, the temperature outside is hovering at around 0 degrees and a darker, hardier beer is probably in order, but grapefruit makes me think of summer, so why not use that image to warm myself up.

The grapefruit isn’t too apparent right off the bat. But that could be because I’m used to Eddyline Brewing’s version of this style (Eddyline is in Buena Vista, Colorado, and I hope to make a trip up this summer to share a review). What I like about this one, along with other IPAs that Storybook brews, is that there is a malt backbone. You can tell by the color that there are some good grains in this batch, and it has a nice biscuity taste on the backend. I’m assuming that they get the slight grapefruit taste from the hops rather than grapefruit slurry, but that’s just a guess.

My ingredient detective work aside, this beer is easy drinking. It’s not overly bitter and not heavy on the malt, so it’s a great balance. It also has good carbonation, which some of Storybook’s IPAs don’t usually have. There isn’t any particular hop flavors popping out, other than the slight citrus character, but that’s ok by me—again, a good balance.

This beer might be off the menu by the time I publish this, but I’m sure it’ll be back. If you’ve never been to Storybook, make it your next stop! I’ll be posting about the brewery itself shortly; it’s definitely one of a kind (in the best kind of way).