Mountain Candy India Pale Ale

Review Date 6/18/2021  Last Updated 12/12/22 By John Staradumsky

  Style: India Pale Ale   Brewery: Sycamore   Country: USA   State: North Carolina   $ Per OZ: $.20 (B)   ABV: 7.5%

Here’s a treat I picked up while on vacation in Cherokee, North Carolina: Sycamore Mountain Candy India Pale Ale. They only had a single pint can at the beer store I frequent when I am in the area. This is my first beer from Sycamore of Charlotte, North Carolina but if Mountain Candy India Pale Ale is a good example of the quality of their beer, it surely will not be my last.

North Carolina is awash in good beer, no matter where you go. Asheville is certainly in the running for one of the best beer cities in America, but no matter where you go in North Carolina, you will find quality craft beer. The Tar Heel State is the official nickname here, but you could call it the Beer State and not be wrong.

On their website, Sycamore says of Mountain Candy India Pale Ale:

Hop-bursted and double dry hopped, juicy flavors of stone fruit and rainbow candy with notes of citrusy dankness. Brewed with hops hand-selected by our brew team in Yakima, Washington. This is the good stuff!

Sycamore Mountain Candy India Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 7.5% by volume and I paid three bucks for my pint can, about the same per unit as a 4-pack will run you at Total Wine ($12.49). My can is stamped on the bottom CANNED ON 10/14/20. I bought it the first week of May 2021 and drank it on May 23^rd. It is also marked on the bottom “It’s a Far Piece Over the Mtn But I Hope You’ll Go With Me”.

Sycamore Mountain Candy India Pale Ale pours to a hazy yellow color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of peach and tangerine. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body with juicy citrus notes (tangerine and grapefruit), peach, pineapple, grapefruit rind and a bitter unterbergs herbal finish.

I would certainly buy this beer again and would like to try it a bit more fresh. At about seven months of age, it was very delicious indeed. I did buy it out of a cooler, and suspect it has been refrigerated as long as it was there (almost all the beer is kept cold in this store).

Update 12/12/22: Mountain Candy IPA on tap at Taco Mac! Citrusy, tropical, a little resin. Really delicious. I am a big fan of this beer and brewery.