282. Bell’s Brewery (Comstock, MI) - Two Hearted Ale

“Brewed with 100% Centennial hops from the Pacific Northwest and named after the Two Hearted River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, our American IPA is bursting with hop aromas ranging from pine to grapefruit from massive hop additions in both the kettle and the fermenter. Perfectly balanced with a malt backbone and combined with the signature fruity aromas of Bell’s house yeast, Two Hearted® is remarkably drinkable and well suited for adventures everywhere.”

Not aggressively flavored in any particular direction, but very robust, and nicely balanced. I don’t know if that’s grapefruit, though; it sweetens noticeably as it warms up, though not in a bad way. It’s still pretty balanced. It’s a little heavy and boozy (7.0%) to qualify as drinkable from where I’m sitting; but it’s a little south of romantic, too. In sum, though, all of that sounds far too critical. I’m in the middle of re-reading some very bad writing from college, so that might be having some kind of impact on my assessment of this beer. I feel like it’s very close to Black Acre’s TV Wolf, but I love that one and don’t quite know how I feel about this one. So I’m going to go ahead and blame the writing.