Arts & Crafts Beer Review: Sycamore Mountain Candy IPA

“Mountain Candy IPA, what an enticing name!” This is what I thought to myself while perusing the beer aisle looking for a new beer to try. I promise you, it doesn’t disappoint. I’m not the biggest fan of American IPAs, it isn’t what I gravitate towards in the taproom, but the name pulled me and I had to give it a try, so here’s what I experienced. 

Golden in color, sitting right between the American IPA standards 10-12 SRM and at the top end of ABV at 7.5%, Mountain Candy tries to capture a fruity and sweet taste with notes of stone fruit and rainbow candy. A strong flavor with an even stronger aroma, largely due to being double dry hopped, it captures the American IPA taste with a fun twist of sweetness at the end from the rainbow candy flavor notes. 

Upon first taste, the stone fruit shines through, which isn’t a bad thing by any means, and fits the bill for an American IPA, but I was hoping for the rainbow candy to take center stage. Towards the end of the taste we get some of the rainbow candy, which makes you want to take another sip straight away. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not the biggest fan of American IPAs, but this one sits right with me.

When poured into a glass, the double dry hop really does do the drink justice, providing a large amount of fruity and dank aroma. To no big surprise, in a glass, the sip is much smoother than from the can. If you have the opportunity, pour it out and drink it up. Overall, if you enjoy American IPAs this should scratch that itch, on the other side of things, if you are looking to try something new, this is a great intro into American IPAs.