Great Lei by Belching Beaver is a 6.6% ABV Pineapple Colada India Pale Ale
Label:
Ivan made a cask called Pineapple Colada IPA. I could not believe how great it was. So Troy came up with a commercial recipe and brewed it . I thought, “Wow!” Lets call this the “Aloha Beaver” and we came up with this cool Hawaiian label. Well Thomas didn’t like that name so I had to change it. (Brewers can be a real pain) Mark had put a really cool lei on the beaver and I thought, “That’s a Great Lei!”. We’re not that imaginative so “Great Lei IPA!” it is. Thomas wanted “Good Lei” but he is not allowed to name beer anymore.
Cheers,
Tom
Ingredients: Water, Malt Natural Flavors Hops and Yeast
==Introduction==
I first had this one when visiting Belching Beaver while visiting San Diego. Having first enjoyed the peanut butter milk stout, I was sold on them to try much much more. They had the Horchata on tap as well as the Coconut Milk stout and the awesome Me So Honey beer. When trying the Great Lei, it seemed pretty good on tap but I did not really analyze it as I was most likely drunk and sold from the other beers there. Now that they released it to the market, all bets are off and it is time to review this and see just how this beer stands when I take my time with it. An honor to bring their beers to the table here at animebeers.com Cheers!
Aromas:
Good amount of tropics like Pineapple, toasted coconut, rum hints, dragon fruit, passion fruit, lychee, citrus, mango, guava, papaya, honey dew melon, mandarin oranges, vanilla, grapefruit, piney, grassy and citrus hops, tangerine gummi bears, prickly pears, Sweetened condensed milk, toffee, flan, Cocada Mexican Coconut candy, Strawberries, cherries, raspberries and biscuit bread.
Flavors:
Rich Pineapple, Malibu rum hints, toasted coconut, Sweetened condensed milk, toffee, flan, Cocada Mexican Coconut candy, Strawberries, cherries, raspberries, exotic dragon fruit, passion fruit, lychee, citrus, mango, guava, papaya, honey dew melon, mandarin oranges, tangerine gummi bears, prickly pears, vanilla, grapefruit, piney, grassy and citrus hops, biscuit bread, sangria and blue curacao hints.
Aftertaste:
Pineapple, grapefruit, grassy hops, vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, coconut, exotic fruits and toffee. No alcohol in the taste, Gold light to medium body, creamy, crisp, refreshing and chewy mouthfeel and easy to drink.
Overall:
The best beer of the summer! Or at least way better than I have ever had if from the tap. That begs the question, is it better because I took my time to analyze it or was I just too buzzed at the brewery to realize its greatness? Either way, a second time or even third times a charm. This beer is definitely worth having many many times and is an extremely well made IPA. I need to find this again!
Anime Corner:
Vocaloid Hatsune Miku was used in this pairing as I liked her tropical design in this with the whole pineapple and being at the beach. The colors paired nice and the fruit cocktail on a summer vacation getaway was definitely what triggered the feels in this pairing. Such a great pairing for such a refreshing and tropical IPA.
Sources:
http://e-shuushuu.net/images/2010-09-16-324704.jpeg