Belt’s Beer Garden: Good as Gold(water)

If you head 13 miles east of Phoenix, Arizona you’ll find Goldwater Brewing Company. Located in the Old Town neighborhood of Scottsdale, Goldwater Brewing has been serving up craft beers to locals since 2015. You can find their beers across the Phoenix area but wasn’t able to find their distribution anywhere else.

After sharing dark beers the past few weeks, I go back to my roots today as I share one of their hoppy options - Birthday Suit.

Initially brewed to celebrate their brewmaster’s 28th birthday, this West Coast IPA has now become a staple of Goldwater. Birthday Suit was made with Chinook, Citra, and Idaho 7 hops and has a very solid 7.3% ABV. A single can goes for $6 or you can opt for a pack of four cans which costs $18.

This West Coast IPA poured a translucent golden amber color with about a finger of off-white head forming a thin cover atop the beer. The foam quickly dissipates down into a thin ring but laces the glass nicely as it does so.

On the nose, the brew offers up dank and resinous notes of tropical fruits with a dash of earthiness. Grapefruit and orange peel lead the way with some lighter citrus notes of lemon and mango sitting underneath. The hops also add a dash of peppery spice and some grassy notes as well. The malts add a touch of caramel and bready sweetness to the aroma but the hops certainly shine.

There’s a quick wave of carbonation that leads off the sip, delaying the hops for a brief moment. After that fizzle dies down, a hoppy bitter twinge appears that brings forth the pithy grapefruit and orange flavors.

The citrus is quickly subdued with some notes of black pepper and a slightly resinous grass characteristic. The earthy notes continue to build up midway through the sip, as the hops also give off some dank notes of pine and a dash of nuttiness.

On the backend, some light lemon peeks through and offers one last pop of juicy fruit before the flavors begin to slowly fade away.

Birthday Suit ends on the drier side with some lingering bitterness and a sticky resin coating my taste buds. Those pine and grapefruit qualities refused to leave but finally slinked away after a few minutes.

This is a very solid West Coast IPA. It has a lot of nice hop qualities and flavors without being overly hoppy or bitter. If you’re in the mood for a more classic IPA, you can’t go wrong here. It won’t blow you away but it’s very drinkable and worth trying.