The Cottonwood Endo India Pale Ale from Foothills Brewing of Winston-Salem, North Carolina is available at quite a few joints around Charleston now. You can find six-packs at Publix or singles at Total Wine, if you’re only in the mood to sample. Either way, it’s well worth the try.
To the beer! Cottonwood Endo IPA is pretty good. Perfect for sitting around chatting with friends or just reading the latest edition of BeerAdvocate, which rated this one an 82/100. The Alstrom Brothers, creators of BeerAdvocate, actually rated it an exceptional 91, so it’s getting good ratings from most people.
The Endo IPA has a red look to it and has a nice out-of-the-bottle head on it. The smell is floral and citrusy, though not too strong. The taste is a nice hoppy, malty blend that finishes with a good amount of bitterness. At 66 IBU, it’s a bitter beer, but it’s not overwhelming.
The mouthfeel is light to medium body with good carbonation. I’ve read several reviews of it and the mouthfeel seems to vary a lot from bottle to bottle, but the several bottles that I poured were all nicely carbonated with small bubbles in the head.
Foothills Brewing has recently started pumping out beers under a few names, including Foothills, Cottonwood Ales, and Carolina Blonde. There’s an interesting story behind the Cottonwood and Carolina Blonde labels, which I’ll try to keep balanced and bubbly: The Carolina Beer Company decided that energy drinks were the way to go (silly moppets), so they sold the two labels to Foothill Brewing (shrewd, dude).
It’s a good beer and it’s easy to get your hands on some around Charleston. The next time you’re in the mood for something new, swing by your local shop and pick up a six-pack. If you really dig it, let us know at CharlestonBrewCrew.com or on Facebook.
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