Situated in Las Vegas, Nevada the Tenaya Creek Brewing Company has slowly crept onto Alberta beer shelves over the past year with a selection of a few flagship beers to start. This past week we received a slew of seasonal brews from the Sin City brewer which included the Double IPA known as Monsoon. Monsoon is brewed with Cascade and whole flower Mt. Hood hops with a sturdy ABV of 8.5%. Despite having one of the worst labels I’ve personally seen I know not to judge a book by its cover. During my trip to Las Vegas to celebrate finishing University I remember sitting in the pub in the Monte Carlo enjoying a few of Tenaya Creek’s beers. For me Tenaya Creek beers are associated with the Vegas experience I had; one of fun and celebration.
Monsoon pours out a bright golden orange colour with a thick and sticky off white head that looks truly appetizing. Large blobs of lacing coat the entire glass showing evidence of a solid fresh hop content. Taking my first solid sniff of Monsoon I notice a very fruit forward, resin filled aroma of grapefruit, tropical fruits, pine and a light herbal hop note. The malts are mostly non-evident in the aroma with the hop presence being rather strong. The first sip has a mild malty sweetness with flavors of caramel and toasted bread coming through with a general fruit flavor. A bunch of grapefruit, pear and pineapple notes become apparent after a second before the hops force their way through. There is a solid bitterness at first with a moderate acidity and a resinous smack on the finish. A fairly heavy bitterness and pine resin flavor lingers for close to a 30 seconds before subsiding. Monsoon has quite a heavy hitting hop profile with a good balance of sweet malt and fruity notes to balance out well. Overall a solid Double IPA from Tenaya Creek despite the horrendous label.
Grade: 89/100
Price: $8.00
The Alberta BeerSmith 