We start off with a collaboration. Evil Twin Brewing has always been among the more eccentric entities in the craft beer scene. This weekend, I tried a collaboration with 7venth Sun Brewery, their Citra Sunshine Slacker. Hops take center stage in this session IPA with complex flavors and a very delicate balance. Citrus fruits, especially grapefruit, and a little bit of dankness came out of the hops. There wasn't a ton of bitterness, and no sweetness at all to me. As the IPA warmed up, the hops opened up, and there was almost a hint of smokiness, but it wasn't at all off-putting.

Next up was Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Hoppy Roots. Given Sierra Nevada's typical beer crafting, and with this beer's name, I was very surprised to find this beer wasn't super-hoppy! In fact, I found this beer to be incredibly balanced, almost to the point of being malt-forward pale ale. Dank and swampy hops contributed to the flavor, and opened and bittered up a bit as it warmed. There was also a dark fruit or almost red wine flavor in the back end. Overall, a pleasantly surprising beer from one of the craft beer titans.