Got Beer? Going Left Is Alright: Our resident beer expert gives Newport’s Pacific Style IPA a try and cracks Proclamation’s code!

For those who missed it, Newport Storm has put on a brand new face, and boy do they clean up nice. The newly branded Newport Craft Brewing has produced some real tasty new beverages, like the Rhode Rage. In my efforts to catch up on the latest and greatest that little Rhody has to offer, I found myself some Pacific Style IPA.

I find it interesting that they chose to adopt the opposite coast’s IPA style, but who am I to criticize? Oh, right … I’m a beer critic. The aroma of this brew is of light tropical fruits with a hint of citrus. Its scent is very summery, so sticking with the theme of opposites, let’s crack this one open in November.

The first thing I taste is a full nectar-like sweetness, washing tropical fruitiness over my palate. It has a surprisingly light body for an IPA with this kind of hop firepower, but it’s well blended into a pineapple/mango flavor profile that really makes one pine for warm weather. The 6.5% ABV is fairly warming after a while, and deceptively smooth, so enjoy this one in moderation!

It’s funny, because I remember in the olden days, when the Maelstrom IPA hit the shelves with its earthy/piney English style IPA and significant malt profile, it was nearly the polar opposite of this brew. It’s just a testament to how far our Newport friends have come, and how their brews have diversified and evolved. I raise my glass to you all, my friends.

Proclamation’s Secret Code was the official beer of RI Comic Con, and after attending the big event and sampling the hoppy brew, I’ve got some notes. While it didn’t quite come out blue like they intended, it was an interesting purple color, which still fits the theme they were going for. It was hoppy, almost like an IPA, but with well-balanced fruitiness that would be welcomed by craft beer snobs and general brew fans alike. Sadly, I never found the decoder station, but in fairness, I spent a lot of time chasing a tiny Batman around to get him back into the stroller so we could go meet Machete. And I missed the man by 10 minutes!

I love what Proclamation did with this beer, and I hope they have some equally excellent ideas for next year. It warms my heart to see the continuation of this Comic Con tradition and to witness the inventiveness you can only get from small craft breweries dedicated to their art.