Bristol Brewing Birthday Box #3 – Compass IPA Edition
As we mentioned back in our Bristol Birthday Box post, Colorado Springs’ very own, Bristol Brewing, is celebrating 25 years of making beer, and have planned a series of Birthday boxes to be released throughout the year. I dropped the ball on the Laughing Lab Birthday Box (#1), we reviewed the Beehive Honey Wheat Birthday Box (#2), and here we are with the third Birthday Box, Compass IPA. You should be able to find it at your local liquor store, and or Bristol’s Home Base.
Columbus, Chinook, and Cascade Hops deliver big pine and spice flavor with malt in a nice supporting role.
Bristol Brewing Company Birthday – Box #3 Insert Card – Compass IPA
Compass IPA – The Original – [Mike] This is what I think of when people say IPA, the classic West Coast style. Nicely bitter, classic grapefruit and pine flavor, with a bitterness and pine resin flavor that lingers in the aftertaste. Really a good solid example of the style.
A front row seat to the succulent mango, apricot, peach, and citrus flavors that are the hallmark of Mosaic hops.
Bristol Brewing Company Birthday – Box #3 Insert Card – Single Hop IPA
Compass Single Hop IPA – [Jesse] One of the more bitter offerings in this box. The aroma is slightly fruity. The Mosaic hops imparts a definite pine flavor with some slight fruityness. The bitterness of the pine is what lingers, however.
Also known as our Automaton White IPA, this hybrid melds citrusy flavors from Mandarina Bavaria and Citra hops with the fruity esters of Belgian Wit.
Bristol Brewing Company Birthday – Box #3 Insert Card – White IPA
Compass White IPA (AKA Automaton White IPA) – [Mike] Another great IPA, with a witbier twist to it, nice hop aroma and flavor, I get tangerine and citrus pith flavors, some pine.
The bitterness really pairs nice with the hazy witbier character, I’m a fan of this variation.
An Anniversary IPA that unites the classic piney bitterness of Centennial hops with the lush fruit flavors of El Dorado and Strata hops.
Bristol Brewing Company Birthday – Box #3 Insert Card – Compass Twenty Five
Compass IPA Twenty Five – [Jesse] This is a beautiful classically clear, golden IPA. Even though the blurb above mentions the “classic piney bitterness”, I can’t really say that this beer is very bitter – and that’s a good thing. The balance in this beer is great. I initially get some sweetness from the malt but the piney hops then kicks in with some bitterness. That bitterness lingers for some time but does not become aggressive.
[Mike] I think this Birthday Box was a big success, and so far, I’ve been a fan of all of them. I’m looking forward to Winter Warlock coming out this month. If you haven’t picked the Compass Birthday Box up yet, you may want to hurry up and visit your local neighborhood Liquor store.
