Move over, Melvin, there’s a new Alpha King in town -- San Diego’s Belching Beaver Brewery.

The goal of GABF’s Alpha King Challenge is to brew the hoppiest, most drinkable IPA in all the land, and Belching Beaver currently holds the honors as the 2017 Alpha King! To get a taste of their royal hop mastery, their Phantom Bride IPA is an excellent place to start. Brewed in collaboration with the Deftones’ frontman Chino Moreno, Phantom Bride delivers 70 IBUs of West Coast IPA bitterness wrapped up in a smooth, fruity, hazy body.

Aromas of luscious pineapple and floral peach blossoms entice you into this glass of freshly-squeezed, hopped-up grapefruit juice. It strikes just the right blend dank and chuggable, even at its 7.1% ABV. Melon and hints of passionfruit from Citra Hops, Amarillo’s citrus power, and Mosaic’s fruitiness meld together for an orange-mango-papaya dance. This cloudy, juicy IPA has a surprisingly bone-dry body that leads you to Simcoe’s earthy resinous bite in the finish.

Last time we offered Phantom Bride, the Tavour community rated it a 4.03 – it disappeared so quickly, we hardly had a chance to save any for ourselves! And this batch was canned super fresh, so act fast before your fellow hop-hungry Tavourians swipe them all up again.

Rated 4.00 on Untappd; 4.08 on BeerAdvocate
Canned on 1/19/18