Catch The Nami Wave

Before I start writing about Nami, I have to mention its can artwork.  Nami's design is inspired by The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Katsushika Hoksusai, which was one of a series of thirty-six woodcraft prints of Mt. Fuji.   The ingenious designers at Pizza Port and Pure Project were able to capture the entire print on each can, and if placed right can be seen across the span of three cans.  The picture below is from the Pizza Port website:

Craft breweries' move to cans rather than bottles has brought some great design, and the Nami cans are some of the most stunning I have seen.  Of course, you should not judge a beer by the quality of its can art.  Thankfully the beer in the Nami can matches its wrapper.

Nami is a 6.8% abv IPA that is a collaboration between Pizza Port and Pure Project.  I do not usually pay too much attention to a beer's aroma, mostly because my sense of smell is not that reliable, but I did catch peach and melon when I poured Nami.  It is a bright yellow beer that seemed almost to glow.  I was expecting a cloudy beer, like all the ones I have seen on Pure Project's Instagram page, but Nami was clear (in the picture below there is condensation on the glass that makes it look less clear than it really is), and the beer is capped by a tall, meringue-like white foam.  I thought Nami looked more like a pilsner than an IPA.  

On the first drink, the soft smells of peach and melon give way to a tsunami of bitterness from the Citra and Wiamea hops.  The long-lasting back-of-the-mouth bitterness was consistent throughout, even after Nami opened up and began to smooth, but it never became annoying or tiring.  Nami is a treat; drinkable and delicious.  A properly bitter IPA may seem like a throwback or anachronistic, but to me it is reassuring, an affirmation of the flavors that are the foundation of craft beer.  I don't know the extent of Nami's distribution, but it is worth seeking out.