Mitchell’s “Backyard Harmony” IPA

Name: Backyard Harmony
Brewer: Mitchell’s Backyard Brewery (Philippines)
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6%
Review Year: 2021

Backyard Harmony is an IPA brewed with a harmonious blend of new and old school hops by the Manila-based Mitchell’s Backyard Brewery. This beer was also the Chairman’s Selection winner in the 2020 Asia Beer Championship.

STYLE GUIDELINES

This beer is being evaluated as an American IPA (21A) in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.

TASTING NOTES

Clear deep gold; tall white head with fair retention. The perceived aroma was of moderate pine and passion fruit with a medium-low caramel malt character. Light-medium-bodied; moderate carbonation. Backyard Harmony had a low puckering afterfeel. A moderately high piney flavor melded with moderately-low passion fruit and grapefruit and were all backed by a low toasty and biscuity malt backbone. Bitterness was perceived a notch above medium, while residual sweetness was quite low. Lingering orange peel and pine brought this beer to a close.

THE VERDICT

Backyard Harmony is a refreshing, hop-forward, classic American IPA that you would drink in the backyard on a quiet weekend afternoon. The hop aroma and flavor evoked the classic American hop characteristics of citrus and tropical fruit, while the malts contributed complementing caramel, toasty, and biscuity qualities. The relative dryness (very low sweetness) may have enhanced the drinkability and refreshing factor of this beer.  A slightly more intense aroma profile and less of the subtle astringency could still be pursued, but we think this is already an excellent beer.

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Mitchell’s Backyard Brewery

Craft Beer from the Philippines