Georgia’s Wild Heaven Beer recently introduced Sunburst IPA as its new year-round flagship IPA; I’d posted details here on the new brew, and the brewery sent me a sample to review. Sunburst replaces Wild Heaven’s two previous co-flagships, Wise Blood IPA and Altair IPA, as an “ultimate” IPA for the brewery. The website description says:

Combining what we miss about classic IPAs with what we love about modern IPAs, Sunburst IPA is our flagship of the style. The perfect IPA should have a touch of bitterness and blend that with the juicy, tropical notes that come from the best of modern hops and a clean, crisp finish.

Sunburst IPA features an ideal blend of Talus, Citra, Galaxy, Mosaic, Amarillo, Cascade and Chinook hops – adding something special from each varietal.

Eric Johnson, Wild Heaven’s co-founder and creative force says “My vision was to create the ultimate IPA that honors the best of two branches of IPA (West Coast and Hazy IPA) while avoiding the tendencies of many of these beers to drift into overly extreme expressions of flavor. By capturing what we love about those styles we found our path.”

It’s 6.5% ABV, and the brewery doesn’t list the IBUs. I’ll note that even though it’s not in the official name, the can prominently says, “Juicy!” to give you an idea where it’s headed.

Appearance: Copper-gold in color with a bit of haze (unfiltered look). White head that didn’t last.

Smell: Mango, guava, and some tangerine for a fairly fruity aroma living up to the “juicy” moniker so far. Some table grapes and light grassy allium (dried chives) bring up the back.

Taste: Herbal, earthy bitterness that’s fairly mellow, with green papaya, green fruit skin, some bitter citrus pith. Good malt graininess with some rye-like spice, and creamy oats(?). It’s good, with pretty solid flavors and there’s a good balance of malt and hops all around.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, nicely creamy without feeling “stouty” if that makes sense, a moderate herbal finish.

Overall: This is a nice IPA, with great aromas and a good balance.