Scott Bennison's Pinefruit XPA Homebrew Review

Scott Bennison's Pinefruit XPA Homebrew Review
Find Scott at the Huttbrewer FB Page

Appearance:
Opens with a small “hsst”, the beer is keg conditioned so not expecting any fireworks. The beer pours crystal clear and a fantastic amber/orange colour, really great looking beer in the glass. Has a pure white head with tight small bubbles. The beer keeps a small cap, but does generate a small decent head once swirled. Some great lacing on the beer though, so it might just be a dirty glass.

Aroma:
This is a very complex aroma, fantastic and complex. Major pine notes with a sweet resin back bone with just a bit of dankness in there for complexity. Pungent comes to mind, but in the best possible way. The malt does not come through on the nose, very hop dominant! And it's great! And just to note, I have as light head cold while drinking this brew, but the pine and resin are coming through in spades.

Mouthfeel:
The beer has decent carbonation, if not a bit on the light side.  Mouth feel is light to medium leaning more towards the light side. The low carbonation lets the resinous flavour coat your taste buds and lets those hops shine on the palate.

Flavour:
The beer is hop dominated by far, upfront bitterness that's lingers once swallowed. The pine/resin hop character lingers on the palate, leaving the drinker with the feeling of a face full of pine cones, but in the best possible way. The malts come through on the finish with a sweet malt, just to help ease the palate from the pine/resin assault. There seems to be subtle kiwi fruit hop fruitiness behind the more dominate hop character.

Overall:
As I mentioned above, I have a slight head cold,  it this beer is not letting that get in the way, the hops are coming through in spades. The brew is hop forward and those hops dominate! The beer is very easy drinking and going down well chilling on the patio. My overall verdict is not going to be long as I want to get it over so, I can just relax and enjoy the beer. To me, there is no better verdict or "dammit, let's get this finished so I can just enjoy the beer!"