ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 60
I’ll be honest, the label caught my eye. This Fantasyland IPA from Urban Chestnut Brewing has a design reminiscent of the tapestries hanging in the root cellar of a college party house that always had a killer jam band and good time atmosphere. And with a name like Fantasyland, I sort of had no choice but to check it out.
This is my first time seeing an IPA referencing the Midwest Coast, though I gather it’s a play on the whole West Coast IPA thing and I like it. Urban Chestnut uses a combination of Cascade, Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo, Centennial and Chinook hops. And it’s a blend resulting in a beer that goes down smooth.
There’s no overbearing bitterness, more of a citrusy skeleton covered in a pleasantly malty sweet skin.
The color is hazy orange with a firm white head. Easy drinking.
The brews from Urban Chestnut are always polished and make you want to exclaim toasts in pretend German. And Fantasyland follows suit. There isn’t a whole lot of description accompanying this beer aside from some prose about a dream world. If Alice from Wonderland brought beer on her journey to Lewis Carroll’s wild version of Narnia, this would be her choice. And I’d be down to join her.
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