Try?
Last fall, that traveling beer legend Erik Bierbiker made an epic journey across America in search of-beer. On his way back to Virginia, he swung through Canton, Georgia and crashed at my house. Figuratively speaking, mind you, not literally. When he did, he brought me some beer from his trip, including a can of Desert Magic I.P.A. from Mudshark Brewing of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
That can of Mudshark Desert Magic IPA sat refrigerated in my beer fridge until April 16th when I drank it and found it quite tasty indeed. When I did, I noticed the slogan “Life’s a trip…Mudshark along for the ride!” along the top of the can. Quite fitting when you think how far this one traveled on a motorcycle….
The can doesn’t tell me much more but the Mudshark website does:
Our beer for all the hop heads out there that is a decidedly hoppy and bitter, moderately strong West Coast style American IPA.
Mudshark Desert Magic IPA has an alcohol content of 7.2% with a whopping 90 IBUs. The sticker on the can shows it runs $8.99 a six-pack in Arizona, a fair enough price these days. As an interesting aside, the brewery is almost entirely powered by solar energy. Easy to do that in Arizona, I would imagine.
Mudshark Desert Magic I.P.A. pours to a bright orange color with a thick very rocky head and a bright citrus hoppy nose. Taking a sip, the beer has some solid caramel malt notes up front followed by light citric orange, a hint of resin and a long dry grassy finish. For a West Coast IPA this isn’t as fruity and the hops are not as aromatic as one might think either, but the bitterness is impressive. It’s quite possible the beer may have mellowed a bit with about 6 months on it, but this one is still full of citric hop character and an assertive bitter character.
A solid India Pale Ale. If I lived in Arizona, I would be all over this one, especially at the reasonable price.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler
