Beer #3629: Aviator Brewing: I Would Go

Dialing this one in a bit because it’s late and honestly…it’s Aviator. It’s going to be a hoppy mess.

I’ve had this one a bit too long, so I’ll say it was probably a bit better when it was fresh, but my consistent and infrequent (despite, at one time, being the closest brewery to my house) experience with Aviator over the years is they everything is hopped: kolsch, pilsners, IPAs, reds, dubbels, stouts, porters. You name it…hops.

Given this, it’s not surprising that their IPAs are the early 2010s bitter tongue punches and this one is no different. The bitterness overrides any other flavors and any sort of white bread malt or tropical fruit takes a backseat to aggressive bitterness.

It’s good if you are into the bitter and not the hops and you want to taste what IPAs were like 10 years ago. Otherwise, to me at least, it’s a relic of a simpler and not better time in craft beer.

2/5