Lightheart Brewing – West Coast IPA

Lightheart Brewing – West Coast IPA Review

PRESENTED BY LEGACY LIQUOR STORE
From the Fall 2019 edition of the What’s Brewing Tasting Panel

Although Lightheart Brewing still has yet to find a proper home, it has been producing some great beers since its inception at Callister Brewing in 2016. Nathaniel Senff, their head brewer has been a military man by day and a home brewer/professional brewer on evenings and weekends.  Shortly after the successful time he had at Callister, the ownership from the Darby’s Liquor store and Pub decided to back him up so he could brew full time. Moody Ales in Port Moody kindly offered Lightheart some space for their equipment and a place to brew, so while they are still searching for a permanent home, they have been able to release two cores beers in kegs and tall cans. The West Coast IPA is one of them.

This lightly carbonated beer pours a golden colour with just a light haze and a very mousse like head that dissipates quickly.While the aroma is primarily citrusy and woodsy hops there is a hint of caramel and sweetness from the malt. The flavour and mouthfeel has that grapefruit taste and a hint of resin that we love from using traditional North American hops creating some bitterness that balances nicely with the sweetness of the malts.

This medium bodied beer is very easy drinking for a 6.8% beer- almost too easy to drink. While I would have liked to have had a bit more of the West Coast aroma and flavour hops in this IPA, this is a good version of the West Coast IPA that seems to have taken second place to all the hazy NE IPA’s that have hit the IPA world by storm.

To read more about this beer and find out what the What’s Brewing Tasting panel have to say check out the latest issue of What’s Brewing. https://www.whatsbrewing.ca/panel/