Happy New Year and welcome to 2017, I hope you all have enjoyed the holiday splendor with family, friends, and good beer, I know I did.

We’ve just closed out a fantastic 2016, replete with numerous new beers, and plenty of old favorites making their newest vintage debuts. 2017 promises to be just as strong as we welcome Founders Brewing to Washington state in a couple of weeks, talk about starting out strong.

Wasting no time at all, our friends at Fremont have just finished putting the final touches on their newest seasonal beer — Lush IPA. This beer will replace the prior spring seasonal of Select 77, which is a smart move in my book. Select 77 was light and crisp, and well, not much else, it just didn’t check enough boxes in my book for me to reach out for it repeatedly.

Lush IPA is billed as a tropical treat to help quell the last days of Winter and welcome in some of the early days of Spring. I am not sure any of us planned on it being this cold, but hey, IPA’s are always in season. Let’s jump in and see what Lush has to offer.

Beer — Lush IPA

ABV / IBU — 7.0% / 80

$ / oz — $1.89 / 12 oz (estimate)

Availability — Spring Seasonal (January 1 — March 31)

Appearance (3/3) — A nice bright and clear light golden hue, almost yellow. Slim white colored head of lace and foam sits on top, leaving behind some decent enough lacing. A nice bit of clarity which is becoming harder and harder to come by.

Aroma (8/12) — Tropical indeed, I pickup on notes of passionfruit, pineapple, orange, lemon. A slightly intrusive malt foundation of sweet bready pilsner like character is also evident. It is not a hop bomb, there is enough malt in there to balance out.

Flavor (16/20) — Balanced notes of sweet tropical fruits and bready malts work well together. Lots of pineapple, passionfruit, and guava character from the hops. Some sweet caramel and honey tones from the malt as well. Not overly complex, but each sip leaves you wanting to come back for another taste, which is a great quality. Some nicely layered flavor components for sure.

Mouthfeel (4/5) — Light overall, crisp carbonation, and a semi-sweet lingering finish. Quite a nice balance and leaves a slightly lingering juicy finish.

Overall (7/10) — A nice and clean IPA with great balanced tropical fruit notes, a much welcome improvement over Select 77, cheers!

Fremont Lush IPA will be officially released next Wednesday the 11th at Elizabeth Station. There will be Lush, Dry-Hopped/Infused Lush, Cask Lush, and more on tap to celebrate. Bring your thirst and don your best Hawaiian shirt to welcome this new seasonal to the neighborhood.