I tried Mission Brewing's IPA last week at Downtown Johnny Brown's. I have been wanting to try a Mission Brewing beer, as Mission is a relatively new San Diego brewer. It primarily brews German style beers - Alt, Helles, Hefeweizen, Vienna Lager - but its IPA was on tap. It is also Mission's first bottled beer and is now available in bombers. (Mission's website is undergoing a makeover.) I was disappointed with the IPA. It looked good and smelled great, with a nice floral hop aroma but I thought the taste was off. While the hops were present at the start, the finish had strange, almost metallic flavor (one of the BeerAdvocate reviewers that also had a pint at Downtown Johnny Brown's noticed the same metallic flavor, so maybe it was a one-off problem). It was hard to finish this beer as the strange metallic taste became more pronounced as I worked my way through the pint.I want to try other Mission Brewing beers before I pass judgment. Considering the IPA's metallic tint at Johnny Brown's, I need to try a bomber to see whether the metallic flavor was a fluke or is a permanent feature of the beer. I think it strange that a brewer that appears to specialize in German beers makes an IPA as its first bottled offering.
Why not bottle a good lager? It would stand out here in San Diego. If a brewer in San Diego is going to introduce a new IPA, it'd better bring its "A" game, and the Mission IPA I had was a solid "C."The person I was with at Downtown Johnny Brown's had Trumer Pils. It has such a cool glass, and the beer was pretty OK, too. I also had The Lost Abbey's Carnevale, a spring saison. I think I can safely say this is my least favorite offering from The Lost Abbey.
6 comments:
I had a bottle of the IPA a couple of weeks ago. No metallic taste in the bottle. Had a great nose like you mentioned, but for my taste it was a little too malty and the mouthfeel a little thick.
They do bottle at least three other beers, I think. I know they bottle their Hefe, but I can't remember the other two.
That is good to hear. I will pick up a bomber of Mission IPA and look for the Hefe.
Man this is sad to hear about Mission IPA. I've had it once only, at O'Brien's last summer. It was one of the most flavor packed citrus bombs of an IPA i've ever had, and actually had a really aggressive bitterness from that too. This sounds completely different. Maybe the hop shortage affected this little brewery too much.
That beer sounds awesome, almost a Northwest IPA, but not the beer I had last week. I need to get that bomber because I am thinking that keg sent to Downtown Johnny Brown's was a one-off.
Saw bottles of Mission's Hefeweizen at Windmill Farms yesterday. Should have grabbed a bottle, but couldn't pull the trigger.
Palm Springs Liquor in La Mesa (on Palm ave. near Spring st.) had all 4 when I was there last.
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