Rocks Brewing West Coast IPA

At our Pint of Origin IPA blind tasting during Good Beer Week 2021, it might have been Big Shed going back to back with The Hazing in first place, but Rocks turned a few heads in the room when their Holey Dollar West Coast IPA was voted into third place by the 50-odd guests and brewers. A piney, dank and bitter affair, it stood out amid a high quality crowd.

As part of their 2022 rebrand, that beer became West Coast IPA, and while there's been no ostensible changes, the first batch in the new yellow livery comes across as less palate-punching, and more fruity. Sure, some of that sticky pine is there, but it leans more into sweet citrus territory, with the malts gaining more of an upper hand over the bitterness to boot.

James Smith