Summit Unchained 17 Harvest Fresh Hop IPA

The Summit Brewing Company is in St. Paul, Minnesota and has been making craft beer since 1986.  This is part of their Unchained Series of limited release special batch beers. Number 17 in the series is a 7.0% ABV Harvest Fresh Hop IPA. It uses freshly harvested hops from Washington and Michigan, Centennial, Cascade and Chinook, with the Chinook being used for the wet-hopping.

The beer pours a dark orange tinted copper. There is a tall, thick, head of very light tan foam. The aroma is fresh, zesty, citrus, with some passion fruit and guava over caramel malt. The taste follows the aromas, a good balance of tangy fruit and caramel malt. This is much more mildly hopped than I expected from a harvest IPA. The beer drinks smooth, but with a crisp carbonation and a moderate bitterness on the finish. Solid, but underwhelming from what we’ve come to expect from the Unchained series.