Tap 79 Brewing Co. Double IPA. 8% abv. 80 IBU. Hazy straw color. Finger of white foamy head. Excellent retention and lacing. Nose of citrus, tropical fruit, juicy, floral. 

Front taste of grapefruit rind, sweet light fruit, bitter floral hops, bitter botanical end note. Flavors of pine emerge as the temp rises. Aftertaste is grapefruit, candy sugar, bitter fruity hop bouquet. Light-medium body. Mouthfeel is warm, carby, dry, sticky, resiny.

This is one of those contract house beers made for and sold by good ol' Trader Joe's, this one brewed by Golden Road out of Los Angeles, CA. TJ's house beers run the gamut from swill to gold, and this DIPA is somewhere in the middle, leaning toward gold. It's clearly modeled after the famous Pliny The Elder, with its bundle of floral hops and plenty of juicy tropics, coming across as a moderately successful clone.

At it's very friendly price point, its definitely worth your time, particularly if you enjoy citrus taste in your IPA. It may become on of your go-to low-price beers, or you may never have it again. Either way, you may be pleasantly surprised. Recommended.

Tap It Brewing 'Full Blown' Stout. 5.5% abv. 31 IBU. Dark brown in color. One finger of tan head off the tap. Good retention and lacing. Nose of roasted grain, notes of chocolate. Front taste is roasted malt, dark chocolate, background vanilla. Aftertaste is mild sweet malt, some bitter hops, faint notes of raisins. Low-medium body. Mouthfeel is thin with some creamy carb. This is a fair example of its category. It’s a bit thin in body for a stout, and the aroma promises more than the taste delivers, but is otherwise a decent beer worthy of trying, particularly if you like stouts, porters, and chocolate brews. 

From the brewery:

"Tap It Brewing’s Full Blown Stout is an Oatmeal style stout that’s built like a fine tuned motor, designed for high RPM and a Smooth Ride. This beer is hand-crafted using the finest selection of Roasted Barley, Oats, Specialty Malts, and Hops, all blended together to create a dark, rich full flavored yet smooth and palatable stout. Our Full Blown Stout gives off a robust aroma of Roasted Barley, accompanied by a touch of dark brown sugar, and just a hint of smoke. The texture of this stout is velvety and well-rounded, with just the slightest acidity which introduces the rich flavor of the roasted malt and caramel characters that show off the compilation of roasted barley, chocolate malt, and crystal malts along with its dark black color; Magnum and Willamette hops have been added for slight perceivable hop bitterness. The finish is a Full Blown complexity of the malts, along with a hint of lingering smokiness that ties all the flavors together."

Nice silky lace on this stout.

I enjoyed this beer on tap at Popolo's Pizza. They don't have a bar, but they offer a rotating selection of craft beers, displaying the taps on a shelf by the door.