Zaftig Shadowed Mistress (6/10)

Columbus' own Zaftig Brewing Co. created Shadowed Mistress, which is something of a hybrid beer.  On The Daily Growler's web site, the brewmaster describes it as "kind of part IPA, part ESB and maybe part barleywine.  It's a dark, overly-hopped - put into perspective it uses about a half a pound hops more per five gallons than our Imperial IPA - citra hopped with a really unique citrusy flavor and aroma.  We've had a lot of people who don't like IPAs or hoppy beers really enjoy it."

It pours a cloudy, coppery medium brown with an off-white head that lasts a while - longer than you'd expect for a beer that's 9% alcohol by volume.

The aroma is definitely hoppy, showcasing grapefruit (from the citra hops) and pine.

The flavor is malty, but with a substantial hops presence.  There is a bit of malt sweetness in the middle, but it's definitely a hop-forward beer.  That pretty much rules it out as a favorite for me.  Still, it's not bad.

Neither Beer Advocate or Rate Beer have enough ratings yet to give Shadowed Mistress an official numeric rating.  Taking an unscientific mental analysis of the ratings it does have, I'd say they work out to around 80/100 or 8/10 on my own scale.  So it looks like people generally love the beer.  I'm not a fan of hoppy beers, so for me this one is a solid 6 out of 10.  If you're an IPA fan, I think you'll likely rate it much higher than I do.  I'd love to see what this tastes like with a lot lower hops load.

I tasted this beer at The Daily Growler some time ago.  The Zaftig web site says you might be able to find their beers on tap at The Ohio Tap Room, The Daily Growler, North High Brewing, Pies and Pints, Yabo's Tacos, The Crest Gastropub, or a number of other locations.