Ferus Artisan IPA — The Untamed Side of Trussville Has Very Good Hops

The Review

Ferus is known for wild ales and barrel-aged farmhouse beers that require months or years of patient development. But they also make an IPA, and the IPA is very good, which is the kind of thing that happens when a brewery with high standards turns its attention to a simpler brief.

The Ferus IPA pours a clear, warm amber-gold with a white head. The nose is citrus and tropical fruit with a resinous underpinning — approachable and well-constructed, the kind of IPA nose that communicates quality before you’ve taken a sip. The palate is clean and medium-bodied, hop flavor building through the middle with good bitterness that finishes dry without harshness.

Food Advertisements by

For a brewery whose identity is built around wild and untamed fermentation, making a clean, well-structured IPA could feel like a contradiction. At Ferus it reads as range — they have the technical command to make the wild beers wild and the clean beers clean, and they don’t confuse the categories.

The Trussville taproom is the right setting: outdoor performance stage, beer garden, a downtown entertainment district that Ferus is anchoring. Order the IPA. Then ask what’s coming off the barrel.

Quick Stats