BEER#5: FOUNDERS CENTENNIAL IPA

The fifth beer I chose to film was Founders Centennial IPA. I have really enjoyed the Founders beer line so far and ad high hopes going into this one. This one is made year-round and since it is a hoppy beer I tried to find the freshest possible bottles of it. The bottle I had was made on 12/14/09, still fresh.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BEER: Looks are the best part of the beer in this case. The extremely frothy head seemed to stand still in time but leave blankets of lacing behind. Smell and taste were good, both pretty much had a decent dose of earthy, floral and fruity hops. Hop bitterness is pretty much spot on. The malt was surprisingly pronounced for a balancing backbone. Drinkability is good because of the good price and pretty good taste. Alcohol (7.20%) well hidden.

Some things I thought could use changing. The hops fade in the flavor and aroma to leave the beer with a heavy orange peel and caramel malt characteristic. In the end, the beer gets kind of bland. The carbonation is a bit low and the body itself feels sort of watery.

FINAL GRADE: 3.75 / 5 = B (for excellent looks, pretty good taste, aroma and drinkability)