Göteborgs Rapé West Coast IPA (Limited Edition) - Review. 8 May 2021.

The day is upon us, and Göteborgs Rapé West Coast IPA (White Portion) Snus is here!  As of the date of this writing, it's only available on the Swedish Match E-Store, and currently a limited edition.  I hope that will change, but that's the story as of right now.  Many of you know, IPA is my favorite style of beer.  So, IPA snus is something that rather excites me.  It's not very common, however.  Conny Andersson really kicked this category off, with Mellgren's IPA Single Cut (July 2015), Mellgren's IPA White Portion (February 2016), and Hope and Glory IPA Snus (October 2016).  Other companies got in on this trend, like Swedish Match with Göteborgs Rapé Humle in December 2016 (one I wasn't the biggest fan of).  Gotlandssnus released Åreprillan IPA Snus in April of 2018.  And, most recently, Snus.biz released Kobza IPA Snus in early 2020.  Now, Swedish Match is releasing another beer-inspired snus, this one with the flavor of West Coast IPA!  But, what exactly makes a West Coast IPA?

West Coast IPAs

In my opinion, West Coast IPAs are the best styles of IPA.  Some are more partial to NEIPA/Hazy IPAs, but I've always been rather fond of West Coast IPAs.  West Coast IPAs have a lot of citrus and tropical notes to them.  The malts are dialed down, and the hops are dialed up.  They usually have a higher ABV/IBU.  They also have pine/resin notes to them, and are more dank in nature.  Ultimately, what kind of IPA the consumer like really depends on them, but West Coast IPAs are certainly popular.  For this review, I put a tweet out trying to figure out which IPA I wanted to pair with this one.  Someone responded with Lagunitas new Maximus Colossal IPA, which Lagunitas Brewing agreed with, as well.  I don't have access to Swedish West Coast IPAs here, but fellow Redditor "B_KOOL" said:  "I'd definitely go with the Lagunitas. I've tried their West coast DIPA and I'd thought it was a Swedish beer, and I would say it's the closest to the Stigbergets west coast IPA. Take this from someone who's born and raised in Göteborg." So, two endorsements works for me!

Snus and Pairing

When it comes to the beer I'm pairing with this one, Maximus Colossal IPA, the product description says, "Lagunitas Maximus has been rebranded and reformulated with 9% ABV and a new package design! Maximus Colossal IPA is kinda like the brewery’s flagship IPA on steroids. Brimming with pine, grapefruit and berries on top of floral, spicy, dank notes, the exotic hop character leads to an assertive hoppy burst. In short, hops on hops.  This updated West Coast Double IPA will blow the minds (and taste buds) of the modern DIPA connoisseur."  It has an ABV of 9%, and an IBU of 60.5.  So, it's going to be a little more bitter than your average, run of the mill beer.

Product Details

The flavor description for GR West Coast IPA says, "Inspired by the microbreweries from the West Coast, the Göteborgs Rapé West Coast IPA is now released in a limited edition. As the name suggests, it is inspired by the popular West Coast IPA beer with prominent flavors of mango and pineapple, as well as hints of hops and resin".  Each can weighs 24g and has 24 portions, for 1g portions.  The nicotine content is 8mg/g (0.8%), or 8mg/portion.  As you can see in the picture, these portions are the same as the ones in the ONE line, which I'll talk about in the review.

The Review

When I opened the can, the aroma that came through was a clear smell of pine and hops, accompanied by a tart citrus that reminds me of grapefruit, a little tropical fruit reminiscent of mango, and a mild tobacco base.  The portions, being the new ONE material, are soft, and have almost a spider-web type material.  The material is rather porous and light, so it has a quick release of flavor but a high comfort against the gum.  In terms of flavor, it definitely hits that West Coast IPA flavor profile.  It has a dank nature to it, much like I expect from a good WCIPA.  I pick up the pine presence at first, and then a hop character along with it.  The tropical notes of mango are there, along with a light touch of pineapple.  The citrus is on the tart side, making me think of grapefruit.  The tobacco base is light, and mild, and stays behind the other components in the flavor profile.  It's a really well rounded, enjoyable taste.  The nicotine feels to be at the regular strength level, and the flavor lasts about an hour on average.

Rating and Final Thoughts

I was rather impressed with this one, ranking it at 4.42/5.  Now, when I approached this snus, I approached it in two ways:  as a standalone snus, and as a beer pairing snus.  Of all the IPA products I had before this one, Hope and Glory IPA Snus stood on top because I could use it by itself, but also as a good beer pairing snus.  This one definitely hits both of those marks.  I can use it on its own, but it also goes great with a good IPA.  I think people who don't drink beer would even enjoy this one because of the complex flavor profile.  For me, I hope this one sticks around.  Or, if anything, goes to the XRANGE series or something. Swedish Match, if you're listening, you hit a home run with this one.  It's much better than Humle!  If you have access to this one, definitely give it a go, because it's a solid, impressive release.