Beer Review: Elevated IPA

Reviewing the Elevated IPA from the La Cumbre Brewing Company out of New Mexico.
Score: 91

Can is of unknown freshness. Served in a Half Acre tulip and enjoyed on 09/27/12.  

Appearance: Pours a pumpkin-orange color with a slight dull golden hue that is on the opaque side of translucent. When held to the light, this beer turns to a really gorgeous sunset-orange color. One finger of off-white head at pour settles to a fog atop the glass, leaving patches of head clinging to the glass. Really good lacing and retention. Quite a beautiful IPA! 4.5/5

Smell: Grapefruit, peaches, tangerine and slightly earthy hops. Very smooth and mellow, and not nearly as in-your-face as most IPA. You know how orange peels smell after you cut out the pulp? I get some of that aroma here. Too. Very pleasant nose, very balanced. There is faint barley-malt aroma in the background too. 4/5

Taste: Like the nose, there is a balanced blend of sweet citrus, hops and malt, without any one of the components overwhelming the other. There's peaches and orange on the side of the tongue with an earthy hop flavor and some grapefruit on the center of the tongue. The maltiness is towards the finish, though a mildly bitter orange citrus flavor is what lingers. The earthiness of the hops is a little more pronounced on the palate than in the aroma, but it is not intense at all. There is a slight spiciness on the midpalate too, and a hint of lemon flavor. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Super oily mouthfeel. Medium-light bodied, higher end of light carbonation. Mildly bitter on the palate. 4.5/5

Overall: Nothing earth shattering or over-the-top here, but Elevated IPA is an incredibly smooth, balanced and easy-drinking IPA. If this were local to me, I would certainly buy this one regularly. 

Recommendation: If you are local to the beer, nab some. If you are trading with someone local to this beer, ask them to get you some. Given it's mellow, balanced flavor profile, I have to imagine this would be a good starter IPA for casual beer drinkers.

Pairings: Cream-cheese jalapeno poppers.

Cost: $8.99 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.