Review: Collective Arts IPA No 1 (Collective Project)


My current list of my go-to beers whenever I visit the local LC: Unibroue Lune de Miel, Torque Witty Belgian, Unibroue Trois Pistoles and Collective Arts' Ransack the Universe Hemisphere IPA. Those are my most common beer picks each and every time I visit the nearby LC. Why? Those beers keep me happy!

Collective Arts' Ransack the Universe Hemisphere IPA is by far my ABSOLUTE go-to IPA right now, beating out Driftwood's Fat Tug and Fuggles & Warlock's Destiny IPA.. though I still go out and regularly buy both IPAs! Something about Ransack the Hemisphere just tastes like pure joy to me. So.. when I discovered that the LC was bringing out a limited release of Collective Arts Collective Project: IPA No. 1, I was too excited so of course I had to go out and get it.

IPA No. 1 tops out at 7.1% ABV - a bit heavier in alcohol than most IPAs. 80 IBU and brewed with Nelson Sauvin, Simcoe and Citra hops.

Appearance: The IPA No. 1 pours a moderately cloudy orangey-yellow body with the ability to actually see through the glass near the bottom. There's a moderate amount of microcarbonation as well as a pretty moderate amount of off-white head at the beginning that gradually diminishes to film on the side of the glass and a light amount of head on the top of the beer.

Aroma: It's reminiscent to Ransack the Universe to me, it's a sweet, tropical IPA with notes of grapefruit, various sweet fruits such as apricot, kiwi and of course, grapefruit. There's a light candy/sugary like sweetness in there as well but the hops are overpowering just about everything else here.

Taste: Full on tropical. This is almost like an adult version Capri Sun - it's sweet with tropical flavours, enjoyable to drink every sip and I'm going to be sad when my last sip nears. The flavours I'm getting here are papaya, grapefruit, apricot and a hint of kiwi. There's a light amount of a bitter metallic aftertaste at the very end.

Overall Thoughts: This is the kind of IPA that has helped me deal with a super (horrible) cold, heck, this is the single beer that helped numb my pain/suffering while I was dealing with the super (horrible) cold (sans medication). Every time I drink this, whether or not I'm feeling sick or fine - it is like a party in my mouth. I love Collective Arts' artsy labels so I was disappointed that they only used one label for this beer.. but the artwork they did use was pretty awesome.

http://collectiveartsbrewing.com/

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