Beer Review: Omission India Pale Ale (IPA)

Generally, a taboo topic in the craft beer world is this notion of gluten-free beer. I mean, how could a beer brewed with barley and wheat substitutes honestly compete with counterparts using the real things?

Well, Omission Beer doesn’t sacrifice their ingredients while crafting their beers. Omission is a brewery priding itself on creating beers with “traditional ingredients that everyone of legal drinking age can enjoy.” Recently I had the pleasure of trying Omission Beer’s IPA. I was told upfront that it was a gluten-free beer, and never having had one before I didn’t know what to expect.

I poured this beer into a pint glass and was very pleased with what I saw. The IPA poured a deep golden color with a beautiful hazy-white, two finger-head with lacing to spare down the inside of the glass. Maybe I’m being picky, but my only complaint with the appearance is that I find a more copper color more appealing than gold. [Picky! Ed.] IPA receives a 4.75/5 on looks alone.

The nose on Omission’s IPA was wonderful, to say the least. IPA fills your nose with notes of fresh citrus and crisp pines; obviously influenced by its Pacific Northwest roots. This is just everything you could ask for – an IPA on the nose. The only thing lacking, for my preference, is a more juicy presence. Even though there is a pleasant citrus quality to the aroma, it does lack that juiciness I am fond of, and because of that its aroma gets a 4.25/5.

The lack of presence this beer brought to the mouth is what really hurts it. It is so thin that the moment you take a sip it is gone. Nothing lingers or coats the roof of your mouth like you’d expect and sometimes want from an IPA. I don’t know if this is the result of it being a gluten-free beer, but it just lacks some presence. I would have loved to get a longer taste out of this one, but it abandons the palate pretty fast. It’s not like this IPA delivers an unpleasant mouthfeel; rather, it does not give any mouth feel leading to its very neutral grade of 2.5/5.

The final piece of the puzzle is the beer’s taste. Omission IPA tastes exactly how it smells: fresh, bright, piney, and citrusy. But, just like the mouthfeel, that great taste dissipates immediately. Again, this does not mean that it is unpleasant, I just would have liked more out of it! Regardless of its short-lived life, it was very tasty and I believe it earns a respectable 4/5.

I didn’t quite know what to expect out of my first gluten-free beer. I’ve usually heard mostly negative reviews, so I was shocked and pleasantly surprised by how great this beer is. The only downfall to this beer is that it dies out pretty fast, but that is easily forgiven by its classic Pacific Northwest IPA taste. With a crisp pine and robust citrus nose and taste, IPA from Omission Beer easily receives a 3.88/5!

Well recommended.

Ryan Moyer

Ryan Moyer is a graduate of Indiana University, who works and pays taxes.

Omission IPA is brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing Company and contains 6.7% alcohol by volume. Widmer Brothers is based in Portland, Oregon.

Advertisement

Man on the Moon

Beer Review: Moon Man No Coast Pale Ale from New Glarus Brewing

While I was spending my summer in Bloomington, Indiana, a good friend of mine, Eric, visited for the Fourth of July weekend. He and I are what some may call beer snobs. We prefer the term beer geeks, however, because at the end of the day, we really don’t care what people are drinking so long as they are enjoying what they’re drinking. We both wish we could expose others to craft beers, help guide them through what they’re tasting, and see their reaction to major hop bombs or big roasty stouts. But that’s not what some people are into. Again, what separates us from the snobs out there is that we really don’t care what people are drinking so long as they are enjoying themselves.

Eric was visiting from Gurnee, Illinois, located near the border of Illinois and Wisconsin. He knows how much I enjoy New Glarus beer, and seeing as it has very limited distribution, he picked up some six packs and headed down. When he arrived, he showed me his mini haul; a six pack of Spotted Cow, a New Glarus classic, and a mixed six pack consisting of Moon Man and a few others.

Being an American Pale Ale (APA) lover, the first beer I wanted to try was Moon Man, and I was not disappointed in the least bit.

The appearance of this beer threw me off. It poured rich gold in color, which is a little light in color for the style and there wasn’t much head and the little there was dissipated rather quickly. What saved its appearance rating was the great lacing it left in the glass. Although it may not look exactly like what I think an APA should look like, its appearance is the least important quality of the beer. I rate its appearance as a 3.75/5.

As far as aroma is concerned, this one packs a very fruitful, floral aroma. Some citrus notes – grapefruit, I believe. Very bold. Not very piney, which is a characteristic common in APAs, but I was completely OK with that. This beer gets a 4.5/5 for its fresh floral and citrus aroma.

Regarding taste, balance is the name of the game with this brew. It has a very sweet malt profile that contradicts the hops. It’s definitely not the hoppiest pale ale out there by any stretch of the imagination. You get the sweetness up front that is finished off with an acute burst of hops on the way down. Not too sweet, not too bitter – BALANCED. This one easily earns a 4.5/5 for taste.

When drinking, this is a very smooth beer. It leaves a hint of dryness on the back half, but overall it’s very crisp and nicely carbonated. For the mouth feel I’d say it deserves a 4.25/5.

Overall: I was incredibly surprised by this brew. Moon Man is fully unassuming and a phenomenal representation of the style. APAs are my favorite, and this one is at the top of my list. Moon Man has a nice malty presence that works well with the hops providing perhaps one of the most balanced beers I’ve ever had. This is a great beer and one that I feel may be under-appreciated due to its limited distribution. If I lived in Wisconsin, I’d be drinking this every day. As an overall grade, I rate this beer a 4.5/5.

Update: Although I had this beer a couple of months ago, I went recently to Wisconsin and stocked up on it. It’s a beer I will buy whenever I can get my hands on it, and I highly recommend that you do the same. Although it may not be a total hop bomb, it’s a cool, relaxed beer that plays to the characteristics of its style. I am very grateful that Eric shared this beer with me, and I hope my recommendation will influence anyone reading this to give it a try.

Eric and I are in the process of creating a blog dedicated to our love of craft beer and we have an Instagram exclusively for our journey through the world of craft beer. If you want to check us out, you can find us on Instagram @maltedhopballs.

Ryan Moyer

Ryan is a graduate of the University of Indiana.