Fiddlehead Brewing Mastermind Double IPA: Brewed in Shelburne, VT this Double IPA comes in at a strength of 8.1% abv with an undisclosed IBU. A unique thing about this particular beer is that the brewery has committed to donating 25% of all sales of Mastermind towards the Vermont Children’s Hospital’s Extra Life Event which supports clinical care, research and education for the hospital. I am always a big fan of charity beers and making a 25% commitment is a huge contribution that they should be proud of.

Flavour: Initially, there is a lot of biscuit malt and lemon drop candy up front. In the middle, sweet sticky biscuit dough takes over while blasts of passion fruit and orange peel overwhelm your entire palate. It eventually calms down into a tangerine and grapefruit citrus finish that has leafy lemons and pine resin on the aftertaste.

Overall Impression: This was an intense and delightful experience, the flavours are quite profound and tongue tingling.

Rating: Excellent at 8/10, the proceed support a great cause and this beer has potent flavours to go with it.

Food Pairing: A brie and turkey sandwich with fig jam would work well here, it has enough flavour to stand up to the intense beer and I think the citrus hops would work well with the brie and figs.

This beer is sold exclusively at the brewery, for cash only, and typically sells out in a few hours when it is released. As of the latest release they’ve raised over $40,000 for the hospital foundation!