Fulton Brewing Insurrection

Imperial IPAs aren’t about subtlety, which is part of what makes Fulton’s Insurrection so intriguing. The brewery is typically known for balanced beers instead of over the top styles. But, every brewery makes many beers and they can’t all be the same. What would be the fun in that? While their Sweet Child O’ Vine is a well-blended malt-hop Midwest IPA, their 300 IPA is a West Coast Mosaic showoff. Insurrection takes that Mosaic love to the next level, giving it the Imperial treatment.

Insurrection pours a light amber hue and a whopping 9.0% ABV. The nose is a blast of tropical fruits: a bit of marmalade, some blueberry and some underlying earthy floral notes. There’s a lot at play, but it’s tropical fruit up front and that’s what leads the taste as well.

On the tongue, this beer is a combination of big marmalade, papaya, mango, pine, and a squeeze of acidic lemon. It’s soft on first impression, with the orange-marmalade coming through as the other flavors then intermingle in a potent fruit cocktail. It’s not sweet at all, though. Instead the bitter pine takes over the profile about two-thirds of the way through and wipes the tongue clean of everything but resin. After a sip or two, it’s surprising that the beer hasn’t overpowered the tongue yet, but that changes over the duration of a 12-oz. bottle.

Insurrection is a fitting name, a reimagining of the Fulton brand. It’s bold (not quite brash), but forceful and a bit decadent. And, like most insurrections, the first leads to a second and, soon, it’s chaos.

Brewery: Fulton Brewing Company
City: Minneapolis, MN
ABV: 9.0%
Availability: 12 oz. bottle, draft