From the Beer Writer: Last year, while recording a radio segment with a handful of local brewers, I had the opportunity to taste a particularly enjoyable IPA called Smylex. A creation of Pariah Brewing, it was in the orange-to-amber SRM range, crisp, more unfiltered than hazy, and high on cannabis notes; memorable for all the right reasons. So when I saw it was being released this weekend, I was excited to try it again and hightailed it to Pariah’s North Park tasting room to get a taste. As it was poured from its grin-adorned can into proper, ripple-pedestal glassware, it looked nothing like the beer I remembered. This IPA was pale yellow and completely opaque, and when I took a whiff, that pot character had been replaced by toasted pine cone, light petrol and peach. An introductory sip revealed a slightly coating, lightly creamy mouthfeel and flavors of nectarine and (could it be?) dragonfruit, followed by a lingering Szechuan peppercorn-like piquantness. This wasn’t the same beer, but that was OK, because this version of Smylex was even better than its predecessor. And it turns out its creator, Pariah headman Brian Mitchell, agrees.
From the Brewer: “Smylex is a Nelson-focused IPA that we first released last year and we are extremely excited to be bringing back. The 2018 Nelson-Sauvin crop is absolutely ridiculous, so while last year was a 50-50 blend of Nelson and Galaxy, this year we went way, way heavy on the Nelson. We combined this incredible crop year with everything we’ve learned over the last two years to refine our IPA-brewing processes through advice from our friends. Coming from Stone, my instincts, preconceived notions and even my palate were kind of tuned towards West-Coast temperament from the jump at Pariah. It took a lot of research, being open-minded, and humbling my experience to land at the result of this beer. From the water chemistry, to the grist composition (in which we tried every variant and purveyor of each malt) to the timing, volumes, duration and temperatures in which the hops were applied, down to the yeast selection, pitching rate and fermentation profile… this was a ‘ground up’ reworking of every single one of those elements. We pride ourselves on innovation and the ability to use any ingredient thrown at us in a respectful manner, but we were kind of sledgehammering flavors, and we’re trying to learn to refine, focus and have some elegance within that expression. This beer definitely puts a smile on our faces. Hopefully everyone enjoys it as much as we do! “—Brian Mitchell, Head Brewer & Owner, Pariah Brewing