Vitamin Sea Kettle Charge

The Stats
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.8%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.31/5
- Beer Advocate: N/A
- RateBeer: N/A

Once again, I must give a thousand thank yous to the crew at Vitamin Sea Brewing for hooking me up with this beer. I really do appreciate it. I've had to chance to see this operation in the flesh and Kettle Charge was one of the beers I got to sample. This is my first time having a whole can to myself, but if the sneak preview is any indication, then I am in for a treat.

Pours glowing yellow in color with a hazy body and two fingers of dense, fluffy white head.

Lots of lemon acidity on the aroma with a creamy, sherbet-esque smell. I detect a fusel alcohol (I like it) or sulfur aroma to this along with lots of hop oils and mint.

The taste has those lemon and creamy notes from the aroma kind of like a lemon creamsicle. Lots of pineapple emerges here as does a good bit of mango and they flood the palate at every turn. The immediate taste on the transition is pure hop juice and oils with a delicious hop bitterness that packs some bite. Some herbaceous notes such as the mint from the aroma also show up on the taste, but near the back end I get just the thickest, hop syrup imaginable. As it warms, some doughy malt starts to shine and I'm even getting some bubblegum flavors too.

Mouthfeel is calm, creamy, and has good carbonation. A full body for sure and no sign of any alcohol.

Kettle Charge had some unique flavors, but that didn't hinder drinkability. This was a complex IPA that had me guessing with each sip and made the experience that much more enjoyable. It's another solid effort from Vitamin Sea and makes me even more anxious for their eventual opening.

Rating
8.9/10

Read about Vitamin Sea in the Mass Brew Bros story right here!