Beer O'Clock: Coastal Wave

It's my final beer review for the summer. Autumn (my favourite season) begins next Thursday.

I'm also looking forward to my vacation, which begins tomorrow, and I'm anticipating trying various Portuguese beer (in addition to wine and port). I won't be reviewing any beer while I'm away but you can be sure that I'll include it in some of the video footage that I shoot while I'm there.

So, as the final Summer of '22 beer review comes upon me, I thought I would go with a hazy IPA, whose colourful label caught my eye as I wandered the aisles of my local grocery store. This IPA takes its inspiration from both the east-coast and west-coast styles.

Does it work?

Coastal Wave IPA (6% ABV; 40 IBUs)
Lost Craft Beer
Toronto ON

Appearance: pours a hazy, apricot-gold with a foamy, slightly off-white head that reminded me of the inside of an orange peel. It settled to a dense lace or very thin cap.

Nose: intense tangerine with a touch of lime and a slight hint of mangoes.

Palate: grapefruit and pine lead in the mouth with a follow-up of orange zest. There is very much a tropical feel to the mouth with a bitter pine that does not overpower. There is a medium finish that grows longer with successive sips.

Overall impression: this is a very good IPA, which gives the tropical flavours more often associated with an east-coast ale but with the grapefruit and hops that lend themselves to the west-coast style. I even detect traces of a classic, British IPA in the finish. Coastal Wave IPA is an IPA lover's beer.

Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺🍺

I'm very glad that I spotted this can in the beer section of my local grocery store. I didn't go into the store to buy beer but that colourful, near-80's patterned can was hard to resist. It was a great find.

You can find Lost Craft in various grocery stores, in the LCBO, or you can order it directly from the brewery.

Summer might be winding down but that isn't the end of IPA season.

Cheers!