Shadow Chaser IPA

Shadow Chaser IPA hails from Toronto, where it is coaxed into existence by the team at Indie Alehouse Brewing Co. It’s a low octane (5.5%) hazy IPA sold in 500mL bottles.

I already dropped the adjective “hazy”, but my thesaurus doesn’t really have another felicitous vocable to describe the look of this ale: this shit’s hazy. It’s yellow-gold in colour and pours with a fluffy cap of bright white head. The label indicates that Shadow Chaser is made “with a new hop varietal”, but it doesn’t name the hop (though the Indie Alehouse bottleshop website lists Idaho 7 and Citra as the hops used in this bright little hazer). The beer has a juicy nose with tropical, floral, and citrus aromatics. The flavour is initially fruity and flowery, with considerable pineapple and orange juice sweetness. This gives way to a somewhat thin, modestly bitter finish.

Shadow Chaser is a decent hazy IPA. It’s not quite as enjoyable as some of Indie’s other IPA offerings that I’ve tried like Love Triangle or their classic Instigator IPA, but it’s not bad at all. I’d definitely like the beer to have been stronger and I’d have liked the finish to be more assertive. As an NEIPA, I found Shadow Chaser to be better than many, but not quite elite. I’d buy it again, but I’m not in a huge rush.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.