Victory Agave IPA with Grapefruit Review

Name: Victory Agave IPA With Grapefruit 
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7%
IBUs: 50

Victory Brewing has launched a new lineup called the Blackboard Series, which is supposed to have four releases for 2016 and is meant to showcase what the brewery is capable of doing. The first beer in this line up is their Agave IPA with Grapefruit.

As I mentioned in my review of New Belgium's Citradelic, many breweries are trying to ride the wave that Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin has created and I believe that this beer in particular is doing just that.....but with Agave. I will admit upfront I know nothing about agave aside from the fact that it's used to make tequila, however I'm very curious to see how this one turns out

Appearance - Mild hazy dark yellow color with a light amount of visible carbonation. The head is initally thin after the pour and fades away to nothingness in just a couple of minutes, save for a white foamy ring around the sides of the glass.

Aroma - Pale malts and what I assume is agave sweetness with some light floral/citrus hops and grapefruit sweetness, which is also very light in the nose. Honestly, if no one told me that this was an IPA, I would've guessed this to be a cream ale or a pale lager.

Taste - Pale malts and moderate agave sweetness on the front of the palate, while some bitter hops towards the middle with some very mild grapefruit rinds. Back end of the flavor is mostly pale malts and more bitter hops.

If this beer was meant to kick off exciting new things for Victory, then color me very disappointed. I mean not only does this lack the hops that one expects out of an IPA, but the grapefruit aspect of it is also so underwhelming that they may have well just labeled this as a different style altogether and without even mentioning that there was grapefruit in this beer.

It also goes without saying that the agave part of the flavor certainly doesn't meld well with everything else and I feel it gets in the way more than anything else. I applaud Victory for branching out and trying new things but c'mon guys, you're better than this! Needless to say, I would avoid buying a six pack if I were you.

Victory Agave IPA Review - 5/10