Rising Tide: Zephyr

My biggest complaint in recent beer drinking history for me has been breweries that release their beer in 22oz bombers, and nothing else. And while some breweries manage to make bombers affordable, like the Tap in Haverhill, others consistently have their beers littering shelves and collecting dust because they're just priced too high for the average beer drinkers price point. Not every liquor store can pump through $8 buck bottles of Zephyr before they start fading into oblivion, and then when they have to close out cases because it didn't sell, they don't feel the same need to reorder and the brewery stops getting shelf space.
That was why I was so glad when I found out Rising Tide was switching to 4 pack bottles for their every day beers. (Yet 16oz cans of Maine Island Trail Ale will be only available in Maine this summer) As soon as I could buy a fresh 4 pack of Zephyr, it was in my fridge and just started calling my name. Easter Sunday, after a long day of driving around my brothers kids, and abstaining from drinking, I sat on my couch and cracked open a bottle.
Zephyr pours a beautiful hazy gold with a head that pops with pine and citrus. The taste has a nice sharpness to it that balances sweetness with those hop aromas, and finishes with a nice bitterness on the back of the tongue. Overall, it's a great IPA I can add to my rotation of easily available IPAs that I know will now be fresh, and importantly, pretty local.