Bound by Time
Bound by Time - 7% ABV
Edmund's Oast (Charleston, South Carolina)
American IPA
I am definitely on an IPA kick lately. I've had a bunch of friends bring over new beers that they think I'll like, I've gotten a few in beer mail and I've just bought some of my own. This is one I swapped a friend for, passing along a Guinness and Alpha Abstraction.
Bound by Time pours a hazy, dark golden color and produces a little bit of head. My glass was nice and clean this time around, so I even got good head retention and some lacing as I drank the beer.
Once you pour, the aroma is slightly sweet with a citrusy brightness that cuts through. The citrus is along the lines of one of those clementines you give kids for their lunches — if you stick your nose far enough in the glass, it'll hit you like someone just cracked open one of those bad boys. On the back end, you get a lightly floral scent that really rounds out the aroma.
On my first sip, I got hit with a piney bitterness and a bite of alcohol, which I wasn't expecting based off the scent of this beer. It was interesting, though, because the bitterness hit the sides of my tongue, and on the next sip the smooth mouthfeel — a medium body, not too thick despite the haze — carried a little more of the sweetness. Just like the aroma, there was a taste of sweet clementine or tangerine and a little floral tinge to it — or almost not even floral, just fresh.
This beer carries with it a good balance of bitter and sweet, and it makes a great beer for those nights when you only want to drink one really solid beer.
Overall rating: 3.75/5