Last Week’s Beers: Breakside The Pathfinder, Point Onyx, and more

Breakside The Pathfinder Double IPA aged in gin barrels – This was the highlight of the week. Normally you wouldn’t want to age an IPA, and you rarely see anything aged in gin barrels. The Pathfinder really works though. Bright hop flavor and bitternes survived the aging, and pairs really nicely with the herbal gin. This was a really interesting beer! Via Tavour.

Sierra Nevada Hoppy Wheat IPA – The hops overpowered any wheat flavor for me. Nice body and citrus hop flavor.

Sierra Nevada Vienna Lager – This is a really good beer. It’s the highlight of this year’s Sierra Nevada Fall Pack for me. Beautiful maltiness and super clean.

Sierra Nevada Tumbler – I had forgotten how chocolately Tumbler is. It’s a very flavorful brown ale!

Point Onyx Black Ale – A really nice light-bodied, roasty/malty black ale. Untappd and some folks on instagram are a bit confused by this one. Untappd lists it as a Black IPA and some commenters on instagram assumed it is a lager. I don’t think this is either of those, although it tastes more like a black lager. Either way, I enjoyed this well balanced beer.

Point Whole Hog Imperial IPA – Malty with underwhelming hop flavor. Medium bodied, smooth for 8.5%. Reminds me of a robust English IPA. Not my favorite, but a nice change from the West Coast IPAs I’m used to.

Point Session Pale Ale – This might be my favorite of the Point beers I’ve tried recently. It’s really crisp, clean, and refreshing. Nice hop flavor without being completely unbalanced like a Session IPA. I think they’re on to something with SPA.