Saranac India-Style Copper Ale

Brewery: The Matt Brewing Company
Location: Utica, NY
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: A

The folks over at Saranac apparently had a hard time choosing, so they split the difference when naming today's beer - their India Style Copper Ale. The beer pours up (you guessed it) a deep copper color, with a foamy tan head. The nose is pleasantly complex with notes of citrus hops, malt syrup and some yeast ester notes that take on a bit of a cherry aroma.

The palate first picks up some breakfast cereal off-dry malt notes. Hops lead with citrus and apricot. Pine resin comes in a bit later along with some black pepper spice notes. The hops bite builds over time. The same cherry note of yeasty fruit that was on the nose makes an appearance on the palate as well. A fleeting hint of sweetness supports the fruit notes well. The Saranac India Style Copper Ale is medium-bodied with some hoppy oiliness. The finish has off-dry malt with a long hops bite, which is paired with fruity notes from both the yeast and hops.

Saranac has a big winner on their hands with the India Style Copper Ale. This ale has some nice complexity and is well-balanced. There is enough of a malt backbone here to withstand the IPA-style hoppiness, and a nice shot of yeasty fruit esters really fits in quite well for such a hoppy beer. This is a unique take on the copper ale style and is well worth seeking out.