Koto’s Table Base IPA – a rare find from Twin Falls, Idaho
The city of Twin Falls, in south central Idaho (about two hours southeast of Boise), is known as the gateway to the Snake River Canyon. More than 100 years ago, back in 1920, Tojiro Koto built the Koto Building, on Main Avenue, and it still stands to this day, now housing Koto Brewing.
The brewery is intertwined with the city’s history. From having a local as their head brewer, to using the high school’s old gym floors as their table tops, Koto Brewing is all about honoring the tradition of their community.
One of my friends recently paid them a visit and, since I had never had any of their beers, he was nice enough to bring me back a four-pack of their cans to try.
Today I have their Table Base, a New England-style IPA with a solid 7.7% ABV and 34 IBU. Sadly, I don’t know much more about this brew as I can’t even find what hops they used or much else about it online. So let’s just crack it open and go!
Table Base poured an orange-ish golden color with some slight haze to it. Both the color and the haze faded some towards the bottom of the glass, into a brighter, more translucent straw color. There was a nice buildup of head, totaling just under two fingers worth of eggshell white foam. Those bubbles lasted a while and when they did finally fade, there was some nice lacing around the entire glass.
The aroma was sweet and balanced…a nice combination of hops with a decent malt backing. There was a sugary sweetness, almost like candy, that led the way with some lemon zest and tropical fruits following closely behind. Kiwi, papaya, mango, and a bit of pineapple are most noticeable. The grist offers up some caramel and light flaked wheat and oat quality.
My first sip was soft and feathery, with a slightly creamy and heavier mouthfeel. There was almost no bitterness or fizzle from the carbonation. Instead, it is the joint effort of hops and malts that kick things off almost right away.
Along with their softening of the body of the beer, the grains add a bit of caramel sweetness and some cerealesque breadiness to the start of each sip but are quickly joined by the tropical flavors from the hops.
The pineapple adds a bit of acidic sweetness while the mango, kiwi, and papaya all add a massively juicy characteristic to the brew. There was also a slight tangerine/OJ flavor that would occasionally poke its head out and add even more juice-like flavors to the brew.
Around the midway point, there was a slightly bitter twinge from the hops and a taste of white wine grapes. The bitterness was nothing too strong, just enough to sit at the back of the tongue for a few moments, while the brut-like white grapes added some pithy resinous qualities to the brew that lingered a bit longer.
Table Base has a pretty clean finish, outside of that citrus peel pithiness. It’s not super light but it doesn’t sit too heavy either. It’s somewhat hazy but not a true/full hazy IPA. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very solid IPA but needs a bit of refinement. Definitely worth trying and I hope to try more of their beers soon!
