15 Apr Eureka Heights Palate Fatigue IPA

Eureka Heights Palate Fatigue IPA

Eureka Heights Brew Co.

Heights
DIPA
ABV: 8.4%
IBUs: 86
Packaging: Draft, 4 pack 16 ounce cans

I’ll never forget the first time I had Eureka Heights Palate Fatigue. Chris and I met up for lunch at Craft Beer Cellar Downtown, and we each got a flight with lunch. It was December 17, 2017, and it was quite possibly the pinnacle of the haze craze here in Houston.

So much has changed in the last year and a half, but you know what hasn’t? Good beer.

That’s something Eureka Heights has become pretty well known for, and that’s good beer. They don’t do hype. They don’t do absurd. They just do beer, and they make really good beer along the way.

Eureka Heights Palate Fatigue IPA is a terrific example of them just doing them. For those outside of the loop, palate fatigue is a term used amongst beer judges during competitions. After tasting two dozen IPAs, or even two dozen pilsners for that matter, your palette gets weary. It gets all the more weary when there’s several pounds of hops per barrel in the beer you’re tasting.

There are literally 5 dozen IPAs that have been brewed in the last 2 years that could easily take on the moniker palate fatigue, but nobody but Eureka Heights is quite as self-aware to poke fun at themselves and their beer in this way. Yet again, them being themselves makes them shine.

We tried to make it out to the Eureka Heights taproom for some cans, but we always have a hard time making it during open hours. Luckily, I was able to score some cans thanks to Josh! The can art is pretty basic. Brite 16oz cans with a half white, half clear wrap containing a bright yellow circle and some Maimi-Dolphins-esque text that reads palate fatigue in red and green.

That’s it. No illustrations. No custom text. Just a no-frills IPA meant to punch you in the tongue as soon as you pour it.

Eureka Heights Palate Fatigue IPA pours like an IPA advertisement. From the brilliantly clear color of pure gold to the chalk-white, airy head. This beer laces down the glass with more rings than Sonic.

Just as soon as I heard the symphony that is pop, hiss, crack, my nose was filled with fruity aromas of hops. A nose punch of peach grabs my attention, and it’s followed by some pineapple and grassy notes.

Each and every sip is a throwback to an exemplary IPA pre-haze-craze. There’s an initial rush of light crispness reminiscent of a solid summer Pils, and then bingo, right in the kisser – a subtly-sweet mouthful of peaches, mangos, and grapefruit on the finish. There’s no fruit in this beer, though. The fruit salad of flavors is 100% from the 4.5lbs of hops per barrel, and I 100% love it. The dry grapefruit bitterness hangs around for a while. Like a long while. The malty backbone on this one is significantly more mellow than other doubles, and it’s perfectly in harmony with all the fruity flavors and assertive bitterness.

The medium body and perfect carbonation make Eureka Heights Palate Fatigue IPA a solid beer despite the time of year. The massive fruity, tropical aromas and flavors make Palate Fatigue a real crusher. The 8.5% ABV disagrees. However, it really doesn’t drink like the ABV suggests, and that’s largely due to the aforementioned body and carb.

You can find many of the beers we review on Hop Drop, but Eureka Heights Palate Fatigue IPA is a whole other story. Hop Drop couldn’t get ahold of this one, but World of Beer in Cypress did.

Even better than a couple of cans or a draft pour would be a handful of draft pours of different Eureka Heights beers. You can taste several at wild West Brew Fest coming up on April 26 and 27, and you can save 5% on your tickets with code “BEERCHRONICLE” if you buy tickets on their site. You can even buy tickets at HEB! It’s one of Houston’s biggest and best beer festivals, and there will be 500+ beers to sample. Read more about Wild West Brew Fest, and how they’ve raised over $700k to pour back into Katy.