Name: North Coast Brewing Acme IPA

Style: IPA

Country: U.S.A.

ABV: 6.9%

Beer description: North Coast Brewing is just one of those breweries… Their Acme California IPA is just one of those beers. North Coast Brewing Company is one of the pioneers of the whole craft beer “thing” and many would be familiar with this beer.

North Coast’s Acme IPA pours a bit cloudy with a hint of orange and red to the colour. It’s actually surprising how pale this beer is when studied hard. It almost feels as if this beer should be slightly darker as, being a pretty heavy American IPA, it should be packed full of malt.

On the smell, this brew is exactly what an American IPA should smell like: it’s very typical. But, being one of the classic American IPA’s, it can’t be faulted for being typical: North Coast helped form what is typical. The aroma of the Acme IPA is full of grapefruit and pine with a little bit of sugar and spice just to keep things interesting. There’s a certain earthy quality to the aroma as well. A hop earthiness.

There’s a small amount of sweetness to this beer, which lingers along with the bitterness. As with the rest of the beer, the taste here is everything that’s expected in an American IPA. The grapefruit from the aroma comes through quite a bit. The brew is sweet, bitter, and citrus all at the same time. All in all it’s a fruity beer, but still hefty with a punch. Unlike some beers, this one doesn’t create a profile that comes through to tell a story, rather, all the flavours interact and roll about together in the mouth.

As with the colour, this beer feels lighter in the mouth than what would be expected given the alcohol and the general sweetness of the beer. It’s not a hardy beer and is surprisingly smooth and crisp, but also very dry.

For those getting into American IPA’s and why they’re so popular, this is one of the prime examples.

Check out other IPA reviews.

Go to other reviews of North Coast beers.

And for those not in the know, IPA stands for India Pale Ale. Find out why it’s called IPA.