Review #5: Triton Railsplitter

Indianapolis has really started to develop an awesome craft beer scene.  The growth has been incredible over the past few years and extremely fun to watch.....and taste :-)  One of the breweries that has taken Indianapolis by storm is Triton Brewing.  Located on the northeast side of Indianapolis, Triton had their grand opening in the fall of 2011, and I got my first taste of their brews in December.  The brewpub is one of the best in the city.  They often have great food trucks serving up delicious eats, amazing guest taps of harder to find brews, and of course they have their high quality selection of original beers.  This place has everything you want from a brewery.  If you haven't been there yet, this weekend is a great time to try something new!!

Triton has 5 beers that are year round brews.  Magnificent Amber, Deadeye Stout, Fieldhouse Wheat, Four Barrel Brown, and my favorite and the subject of this review: Railsplitter IPA.  Triton's flagship beer clocks in at 7.0% ABV and about 70 IBU's.  Let's dig in to this hoppy masterpiece....shall we?  Well, I shall, you may have to live vicariously through this blog until you go get your own....which I suggest you do.

Choose Your Vessel:  Tulip Glass.  Remember, IPA's and Double IPA's deserve the finest of Tulip Glasses.

The Pour: This one pours a deep copper color and a thick foamy head begins to develop as the pour comes to a close.  The tulip accentuates the head of this brew and it ends up being a solid 2 finger-width head that almost spills over the lip of the glass.  I let it sit for a bit and that head did not go anywhere.  Just an indication of a resinous and robust IPA.  The beer holds itself well in the glass.  Perfect pour.  As I sit back and take this picture, the beauty of the beer strikes me as something I haven't noticed before.  It's really nice to look at.  Attractive in every way.  The deep color suggesting that you are about embark on a flavor adventure.

Aroma: Mostly pine and grass are what I get when I take a whiff.  It actually smells like a beer that would have a much higher IBU measurement, but 70 IBU's is pretty solid for a standard IPA.  I do get a bit of a sweet malt hint towards the end of my inhalation.

Taste:  This one is definitely a hop punch in the mouth.  You get a good balance of pine, citrus, and a little tropical fruit right up front with a little malt background that holds everything together nicely.  The beer finishes extremely bitter and dry, which certainly could be off-putting to some.  For me, though, it just makes me want more.  I definitely enjoy a heavy bitterness in my IPA's and this one does not disappoint.  The bitterness also hangs around for a while after I take each sip.  The flavors of this beer assert themselves aggressively, another attractive feature for me.  Halfway through I also noted that this one is refreshingly crisp and just has a really nice fresh taste to it.  Also, the lacing was quite moderate on the glass throughout the tasting.  Was so interesting that I had to take a picture.

Overall:  Definitely my favorite of the Triton year round brews.  I actually have no problem saying it's one of my favorite standard IPA's to date.  For me, it's the bitterness that really makes me crave each sip.  This is definitely a beer I recommend to friends, and one that I have sent to people as extras in beer trades.  If you read this and would like one, send me an email address so we can set something up.  I'd love to get this beer out and help spread the good work that Triton has done if I am able.  Cheers to Triton on a job well done!  Enough writing....I need to go grab another.