Try?
Have you read my review of Scofflaw Basement IPA yet? If you did, then you noticed I wasn’t overly fond of it. If you haven’t, then shame on you. Go read it now, and the rest of us will wait for you.
Welcome back! See? Basement IPA was the first Scofflaw beer I tried, and I have to say that first impression of Scofflaw was not a very good one. Although they only opened in July of 2016, Scofflaw beers have become extremely popular in Georgia, and some package stores have had to ration their brew. One sic-pack per customer, please.
No need to ration the Basement IPA to me, though. I was disappointed in its far too thin maltiness. I know that’s the style these days, but if I want a glass of hop juice, I’ll toss some cones in the blender and be honest about it. Beer should have malt, to, my friends. Beer was made with malt long before hops were introduced as a seasoning about 1000 years ago or so.
Enough ranting, however. I gave Scofflaw another try with their Scofflaw Westside IPA, and I’m glad I did. This one is more of a classic West Coast IPA aka American IPA, with more malt and a traditional hop profile.
From the brewery website:
Westside IPA is our take on the West Coast IPA with an aroma of resinous piney hops up front, an inviting caramel malt backbone, and a boozy bite to boot. You can taste all the malt up front with a lingering pine and rolling citrus hop punch that measure on the Richter scale. Our West Coast brewer may have relocated to Georgia, but this beer shows his true California roots. We think it stacks up so flash a sign to your bartender and ask for a west-SI-EE-D.
Scofflaw does not list an ABV for Scofflaw Westside IPA on their website, but I bought a 32-ounce crowler of it at Stout’s here in Canton and they had it listed as 7.8%. I paid $7.75 for mine.
Scofflaw Westside IPA pours to a bright orange color with a thick rocky head of foam and a lush nose of zesty citrus and honeydew melon. Taking a sip, there’s a solid caramel maltiness, perhaps a little less than I’d like but still more so than in many of today’s IPAs. The resiny pine pops immediately as does the juicy lemon and grapefruit pith and peel all leading into a long dry bitter finish. Very tasty indeed, an IPA as it oughta be, and one I much prefer to their Basement IPA. The nose is bursting with grapefruit and pine, what a beauty!
OK, Scofflaw, you may have struck out with me on Basement IPA, but you sure hit a homerun with Westside IPA.
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
