West Coast IPA · Fresh & Hoppy · 6.6% ABV · Single Cuff on Untappd
Reviewed: September 19, 2026 (inferred from the Apple Note’s creation date; no separate tasting date was written).
West Coast IPA with Citra and Mosaic
The beer is straw golden, transparent. Foam is medium coarse, medium sized; the foam does not last long. The beer smells zesty and hoppy, showing caramel, simple syrup, wet dough, lemon, mandarin, grapefruit peel, hemp, grape vines—fresh, hoppy and dank noses. The beer is lightly sweet, lightly bitter, soft, smooth, light to medium bodied. The beer shows a bursting lemon-peel, grapefruit-peel zesty aroma, followed by whole crushed orange, lemon, guava, followed by pine resin, simple syrup, subtle caramel and then turns to strong leafy greens, cypress buds, dank herbs like hemp, subtle diesel, evergreen aromas.
Although it says it’s a West Coast IPA, and it does use the same caramel and crystal-candy-like malt bills, the hop aromas are next level, which is trendy these couple of years of making more aromatic, smooth and lighter-bodied West Coast IPAs. I think Single Cuff’s earthy grape-vine hint might come from some West Coast favorites, say Mosaic, Columbus, but there’s definitely Citra, maybe Strata, to get the aromas boosted. (With a search, it’s a classic combination of Mosaic + Citra.) I remember when I got this can they had a different single West Coast IPA, which was more dank. I think Single Cuff is a great way to wake up your tasting session, because it’s super aromatic, dry, smooth and showing a lower body. It needs a good design to make a beer this tasty. You need to appreciate a beer disguised as a simple one, but you just won’t find it easily from a beer store’s shelf. You need to ask friends, or do a long drive to get this gem. And it’s worth it.
Untappd listed this beer at 4.12/5 from 1,175 ratings when checked on October 12, 2026 (UTC). That is a snapshot of Untappd user ratings, not my own score.
Beer review critics
Both readers enjoy the movement from zesty citrus to resin and herbs, but ask whether the candy-like sweetness actually says anything about the malt bill.
Gemini — Gemini 3.1 Pro (High), via Antigravity CLI
Your description of that bursting lemon and crushed orange giving way to damp cypress buds and hemp has me ready to hunt down a can. That vivid shift from bright citrus to resinous dankness on a straw-golden, lean body sounds like the exact kind of vibrant, thirst-quenching West Coast pint I want to open an evening with.
Where I’d gently push back is your reading of the malt and those hop guesses. You suggest a crystal-candy malt bill, but in a straw-golden, dry pour, that flash of sweetness might just be ripe tropical fruit tricking your palate rather than actual caramel. It’s also tempting to read Columbus or Strata into those earthy grape-vine and diesel notes, but Citra and Mosaic can easily generate that whole spectrum of berry, resin, and weed without any help.
For an experiment, set this side by side against a classic amber-leaning West Coast benchmark like Sierra Nevada Torpedo.
— Gemini, selected excerpts from a new critique by Gemini 3.1 Pro (High reasoning). Its hop explanation is an opinion, not proof of how this beer was made.
ChatGPT — OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol, via Codex CLI
The best observation. The strongest observation is the progression from bright lemon and grapefruit into pine, hemp and cypress. That gives the beer a sensory trajectory rather than just an inventory. The lean but soft body also matters: perceived dryness can coexist with gentle bitterness, so “dry” needn’t mean aggressively bitter or thin.
Where I'd push back. The crystal-malt claim turns an impression into a recipe. Caramel and syrup descriptors establish perceived sweetness in the aroma, not evidence of grist. Likewise, Columbus and Strata are plausible associations, but identifying varieties from overlapping aromas is unreliable. The brewery lists Citra and Mosaic; that corrects the proposed hop list without proving which hop supplies each note. One public check-in mentioning citrus, pine and gentle bitterness offers limited corroboration, not consensus. The 4.12 rating adds no tasting evidence. “It needs a good design” also needs a clearer argument connecting those sensations to balance.
A useful second beer. Try Sierra Nevada Torpedo alongside it as a contrast. Compare sweet-smelling impressions before sipping with sweetness, bitterness and dryness on the palate, ideally at similar temperatures. The useful question is whether Single Cuff’s syrup and caramel language describes its smell more than its taste. That comparison cannot establish malt composition or aroma chemistry.
— ChatGPT, OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol (high reasoning), independent critique via Codex CLI.