After exploring my Regina in depth, we head east to the belle province for a west coast IPA. Racking up some air miles here. I parle vous a bit and in my books “Belle-mere” means mother-in-law, but the girl gracing this beer can looks like no mother-in-law I ever met. Luckily before I could bring this discrepancy to the attention of the Department of Morality (which in hindsight would have been a very bad idea) the COMDB translation department saved the day. Sensing my lack of grasp of the various nuances of the French language, they corrected me and pointed out that without the “e” on the end, “Belle Mer” means “beautiful sea”. Now that makes sense, this being a West Coast IPA and all. I stand corrected and relieved. Homefront battle and possible injury averted.
This Archibald IPA pours a hazy dark Wreck beach sunset gold, in case anyone on that stretch of sand ever noticed the sunset.* A head of hazy white breakers. A mild tropical fruit aroma with a touch of malt. First swig says fruit and bitters all at once, no sequence or shift of gears. A full tropical fruit malt and hoppy crisp bitters at le meme temps.**
As I progress down the glass the bitters settle a bit and the fruit remains for a traditional IPA. A big swig candidate? Why not. A big swig brew it is. A bit light and fizzy, the bitters are back or did they ever really leave? The high IBU rating is well warranted. It is warming into a little fruity, a little malty, a little fizzy, and a little bitter. It’s all in there and even though it’s a complex and beguiling sea, and a bit choppy at times, it doesn’t leave you green around the gills. It is bonne bière.** It is somehow balanced. Best served cold, as it warmed the bitters started to surface.
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