Belt’s Beer Garden: Bawk-ston Market

Urban Roots opened their doors four years ago in downtown Sacramento, California. They’re not just a brewery though. They’re also a smokehouse that offers up a slew of delicious meats. And today I have one of their beers dedicated to that meat selection - Bawk! IPA.

Bawk! IPA is the second beer they made solely for their fried chicken shop/bar with the same name, which is located just a few blocks away from the brewery and opened a year later in 2019.

It’s an unfiltered IPA that was brewed with a trio of hops - Cascade, CTZ, and Mosaic - and features a 7% ABV. My version of Bawk! was canned a few months ago, on June 16th, and a single 16-ounce can cost me $7.

It poured a cloudy golden straw color with just about a finger of dense head topping it off. The foam was rather sticky and laced the sides of the glass completely when dissipating. After a few moments, the bubbles stayed put at about half of their initial rise, leaving a nice layer across the top.

The nose was sticky sweet with some dank hoppy notes. Some fruits came forward, like grapefruit, lemon, and a touch of berries. But there was also a resinous pine scent as well as some bready malts that added a biscuity quality to the aroma.

On the initial swig the beer began with a creamier, soft mouthfeel and a quick flash of carbonation. The flavors quickly came forward and hit with some light hoppy bitterness and some of those fruit notes.

It was a nice blend of berries that came first and was followed closely by some citrus notes. Lemon and orange were next with a dash of those grains appearing and giving off some flaked wheat/oat characteristics.

Midway through there was more citrus but, this time, it was a slightly bitter citrus rind flavor that added even more orange flavors and some pithy grapefruit as well. A touch of earthy pine and grass hid underneath, appearing every so often behind the fruits.

Bawk! ends very cleanly. Each of the flavors fades away at nearly the same time, only leaving behind a slightly bitter hoppy/grapefruit taste that disappears shortly after as well.

For 7% it’s very easy to drink, however, it starts out feeling light and crushable but as the pint goes on it starts to sit heavier and heavier in the stomach.

Has a lot of great flavors, mostly lemon and citrus, with a nice malty backbone. I can see this pairing exceptionally well with BBQ foods…which is perfect because, as I said earlier, Urban Roots is also a smokehouse and offers a full menu of smoked meats and burgers!

A well made beer. Can’t wait to head out to Sacramento and try these guys in person!