PLANTERS MR. IPA-NUT
Brewery: Noon Whistle Brewing Co. & Planters Peanuts
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.3%
Size: 16oz/473ml cans in a 4-pack
Description: Ale brewed with peanuts
I know this isn’t a typical post review, especially on Three Snackateers’ site, but…I’m a Dad. I drink and brew craft beer as I’m sure many dads also do. So…knowing this is a limited release only for Illinois, that I’m sure many east and west coast craft beer geeks might be interested in…I post this for your benefit (as well as anyone else interested). So let’s pop this bad boy open!
The can is wonderful. A plastic-wrapped 16-ounce tall boy can with the iconic Noon Whistle full-open top. Its design is a great mix of Noon Whistle’s beer can style of solid block colors and the solid block style of Planters Peanuts. A blue top third of the can with a bright, yellow bottom two-thirds and that happy Planters Peanut man winking right at you. Typical NWBco badges and style around the can wrapper make this feel more like beer than a bag of peanuts.
The look is on the darker scale of SRMs but within the typical IPA style guidelines. A slightly cloudy, deep orange for the body of the beer. But the cloudiness is a bit too cloudy for the IPA style. I’m assuming the cloudiness comes from the nut proteins. The head is fairly white and fades quickly until there’s just a tiny white ring that clings to edge of the glass and beer.
The smell is really pleasant. A light tropical hop nose with a hint of honey. I don’t smell any salt, but I do get a faint peanut smell. Going into this, I would have thought to have at least a bigger smell of peanuts, but I’m happy to say I am wrong. The tropical citrus, grapefruit, and lemon/lime smells are really the most powerful. Like a true IPA should be.
The taste is great. You would think the honey roasted peanuts would be an obvious flavor but it’s not. Which, in my opinion, makes it a great beer. The light honey, peanut and salt flavor from the peanuts comes through in a subtle way but is balanced with the tropical characteristics of the hops. I assume the hops are Citra and some sort of New Zealand hops, judging from the types of fruit I taste. Then the peanut flavors fade to present the bright hops and quickly dissipate back to a sweetness of honey and touch of salt. The balance is impressive. I’m most pleased with the balance of peanuts to hops here. It’s clear that Noon Whistle still stayed true to the style of IPA but added the peanuts only for flavor. Well done. Hopefully there’s more collaborations to be had like this!
Cheers!
Should you buy?
Yes! It was great. It remained true to its IPA style while highlighting the honey-roasted peanuts. 8.5/10.
Where to Buy?
Noon Whistle Brewery (obviously) but also most major craft beer stores in and around the Chicagoland area. I got my specific 4 pack at Binny’s, but I know other craft focused beer stores will have this too.
Have you tried the Planters Mr. IPA-Nut Beer?
I would love to hear your thoughts and I encourage you to comment below. And if you want to find more local snacks and see what’s coming out or if you’re curious what food to celebrate for the day, find me on Facebook, Instagram and soon-to-be Twitter! #dadbodsnacks