Rubicon IPA.

Bomber sitting in the fridge for a while. I have too many options at this point, when selecting a new beer for the night, and I haven't even gotten into wines this season. A standard IPA, it tastes like a standard IPA. In such a crowded space, that's not really something you should expect. Unfortunately, Rubicon IPA is very vanilla. It more or less hits all the markers but there's nothing memorable or outstanding. The hoppiness is pleasantly high for a regular IPA, but I got a rather stale, hop pellet-y impression from it. There's not much else to say about its profile because of it. Which reminds me, I really wish I was more familiar with individual varieties' nuances. Hop tea party?

There's nothing offensive about this beer, but nothing impressive. In some sense, that's a terrible thing. Many breweries use IPAs as their flagship (but it would be great if there were breweries known for killer ambers, stouts, lagers, or something else), and producing a vanilla IPA in that space doesn't always leave the best impression, and in some cases, it doesn't leave any impression. Bland is one thing IPAs should not be.

• Appearance: A bit cloudy, but otherwise standard dark golden straw, blah blah. First pour's head faded into moss. Second pour was a bit more vigorous but still looks like it wants to flatten out.
• Smell: Concentrated hop smell, a bit like pellet hops. But mostly nondescript to me.
• Taste: Big hoppy, if a bit stale, flavor. Very straightforward, nice amount of malt, nice amount of hops. A bit generic.
• Mouthfeel: All within the right range.
• Drinkability and Overall: Definitely drinkable, but a bit high at 6.5%ABV. It's rather uncomplex but not unenjoyable. Decent tasting but easily forgotten.