Fistful of Hops Fall Release

Holy shit Sun King has been canning beer non stop. According to Sun King, "Fistful of Hops is [a] quarterly series of four IPAs, each with the same malt base. We balance that base against a seasonal “fistful of hops” - each time a different variety. Our initial release contains Pacifica and Zythos hops, which provide flavors of orange, tangerine, and grapefruit." I'm assuming the October 13 is considered the initial release. According to their 2010 release they were going to be a spaghetti western motif, and this can seems to keep that theme rolling. Not sure why this series got interrupted in 2010, but I'm glad they brought it back because this was a solid IPA with some really unique flavors.

Before we get into color, aroma or flavor you are blown away by the bad ass cans! The shrink wrap technique really gives Sun King a ton of flexibility on how their cans can look. They go from matte print to vibrant glossy prints like this one and anywhere in between. The colors look better than any bottle I've ever seen and I think it makes the beers stand out on the shelves. Text is incredibly clear and readable even if my pictures aren't always the best. This stuff is a marketer's wet dream.

I didn't get it on draft but from what I heard the cans were as good if not better than the draft. It looks like the beer comes in at 6.4 abv and 73 IBUs. The brew pours out a nice golden yellow color with a thick fluffy white head. It smells like a nice bitter tropical fruit cocktail, tons of citrus fruit and a little tropical aromas. It tastes like a bitter beach vacation! The flavor is deliciously sweet up front with all the fruit flavors that you get in the aroma. It has a great juicy citrus finish with strong bitterness on the back end. Everything tasted so bright and fresh. Despite some really big in your face flavors the beer remained light and crisp and really easy drinking. This would have been a great release a little bit earlier in the year when it was warmer. It really reminded me of a hopped up version of Osiris Pale Ale, and I love Osiris. As it is, I will gladly drink the shit out of this stuff at every tailgate I go to as long as it's available.

Really well done Sun King. If each of the quarterly releases are this good, I can't wait! I give this gunslinger a rootin' tootin' 4 

Professor Beer: