Equivalent New England double IPA big on citrus, low on bitterness

Equivalent Exchange New England Double IPA; Bent Water Brewing Co., Lynn, Massachusetts

Details: Available at various locations, including Giant Eagle, Chateau Wine, Northwest Wine & Spirits, Quarry Market Carryout, Savor Growl, and Weilands Market; $16.99 (ouch!) for a fourpack of 16-ounce cans; 8.0% alcohol by volume

Notes: As expected, this New England pours hazy (but not soupy), with a pleasing golden glow and an average white head.

Thoughts: Though based northeast of Boston, Bent Water has an Ohio connection: co-founder Aaron Reames grew up in Bellefontaine and attended Ohio State University, and his wife, Jen, also is from Ohio.

"In a sense, though we opened in Massachusetts, the brewery was really born in Ohio," Reames said. "That’s where I fell in love with science as a kid working in my dad’s lab, as well as the labs of Ohio State University. Later, that fascination with science led me toward home-brewing."

That home-brewing, which began on a stovetop with friends as taste-testers, has grown into a full-fledged operation. In addition to Equivalent Exchange, the Buckeye expatriate brews several other New Englands, along with IPAS, a wheat ale and a lager year-round, along with

collabs and seasonals. The brewery distributes to Ohio and Massachusetts as well as Florida, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Equivalent Exchange, as with most New England IPAS, is fruit- and citrus-forward, but without the bitterness of its West Coast IPA brethren. I found it to have a pleasant grapefruit aroma with a well-rounded citrus flavor. Though the 8% ABV is starting to edge toward the high side, it does not feel overly heavy or boozy.

If you like IPAS but the bitterness can sometimes be a turn-off, I would suggest this one. It has a mellowness with its mouthfeel and does not have a back bite — nor does it linger afterward as sometimes happens with the piney IPAS, leaving your tongue feeling like a dried-out rope.

Only one complaint: $16.99 for a four-pack (ope!) is a steep price point for us Midwesterners.

For Reames, though, finally reaching Ohio with his beers is a box he has long wanted to check.

"This feels like coming home," he said. "I’ve wanted to have Bent Water available in Ohio for as long as we’ve been open. Though we ended up moving to Massachusetts, my heart is still in the Buckeye State."

— Patrick Holbrook, Dispatch beer reviewer pholbrook@gannett.com

HOLBROOK/DISPATCH PATRICK Brewed by Buckeye State transplant Aaron Reames, this New Englander is an excellent choice if you don't like your IPAS overly bitter.