Its pretty amazing that Sly Fox was able to get their Route 113 IPA recipe tweaked just right to get this hop-stravaganza in a can to come in at exactly 113 IBUs! I am impressed. 

From the Sly Fox site:

"A big, flavorful IPA for all the hopheads out there, brewed with British Pale and Crystal malts, and hopped with Centennial, Cascade, German Northern Brewer, & UK East Kent Goldings. Bold and spicy."

Here we go...

Pour - a lot darker than I expected. Very dark amber, almost like a brown ale in appearance at first glance. I guess you do need some malt to balance out all those hops! Nice, thick, fluffy head on top. This is looking good so far.

Aroma - sweet lemon and/or orange peel, a bit of pineapple, some grassy notes, toasted bread and some floral aromas. No overly west coast in aroma but this definitely is hop assertive.

Taste - brash but not harsh. This IPA has some legs but its not one-sided and the hop profile is well done. Its an interesting mix of Pacific Northwest, Northern European and British hops so they must have dialed this up precisely. The cascade definitely gives off a lot of the familiar IPA flavors with the others adding a nice bitterness or sharpness to this brew. Plenty of malt backs this up but your tongue knows the hops were in charge. 

Overall - this almost came across as a strong, extra-hopped English-style IPA to me. It had the strength of an American IPA and the assertiveness with the hopping but the flavors were a lot more consistent with some English style IPAs that I've had. I liked this a lot and am glad I have some more in the fridge. This is however not a similar brew to say...Ska's Modus Hoperandi or Central City's Red Racer IPA. 

Would I buy more of it? - absolutely, I'd love to have a cooler full of these and just chill in my yard and play some horseshoes with some hophead friends.

Note - Sly Fox just recently announced that they'll be canning their Oktoberfest this year which will bring their canned total to six great beers. Nice!

Also, in case you're wondering, Route 113 runs straight through Phoenixville, Pennsylvania - which is of course home to Sly Fox.