Here’s another one from Washington D.C.’s Atlas Brew Works: Ponzi West Coast IPA. Named after the inventor of the eponymous pyramid scheme, this beer is hopped with “criminal disregard,” which apparently means it has Cascade, Chinook, Centential, Mandarina, and Ahtamun hops on top of Munich malt. According to the website, “if it seems too good to be true, you’re probably drinking Ponzi.” Let’s see about that, shall we?

Ponzi pours a lightly hazy, tarnished gold with minimal head. The aroma shows the complexity of the hops, but it’s not off the wall in that department. There’s a sweet and creamy element to the nose that nicely complements a diversity of fruits: ripe peach and nectarine, tangerine and grapefruit. The palate, however, shows very little of these fruits inside a beefy, malt-forward body. It’s on the drier side with dusty hops, bready malt, and a gentle bitterness that, while not overbearing, really doesn’t let up even well into the finish. There’s a bit of lemon peel and pink grapefruit on the mid-palate, and the finish is refreshing with a bit of pulpy orange juice amid the hoppy bite. It’s a clean and enjoyable brew, but the nose leaves me wanting just a little more complexity on the palate.

7.3% abv.

B+ / $11 (per six pack) / atlasbrewworks.com

Atlas Brew Works Ponzi West Coast IPA

$11

8.5

Rating

8.5/10

Related Stories:

Review: Atlas Brew Works Giant Flaming Zombie Polar Bear Double IPA Review: Atlas Brew Works Dance of Days Pale Ale and Blood Orange Gose Review: Atlas Brew Works District Common and Festbier Review: Schlafly IPA, Hazy Grapefruit IPA, Low Cal IPA, and West Coast IPA