Stone - Enjoy By 9.13.13

Stone's "Enjoy By" is a double IPA that they have released to alleviate a single problem: deteriorating hop quality.  As we all know some beers are able to be aged if kept properly and that aging can alter the flavor of the beer.  This can often yield some pleasing results and sometimes can do more harm than good.  Hoppy beers and those with high alcohol content are often good candidates for aging as both of those qualities were originally popularized thanks to their powers of preservation.  However, while hops may act as a preservative, the qualities that we all love that hops imbue to beer tend to fade rapidly as the hopped beer ages.  In rare instances, this can work out, but more often than not it is less desirable and a far cry from the original intent of the brewer.

The deterioration has implications in aging, but also on the shelves.  How do you know if your IPA or other hop dependent beers are fresh?  How do you know you're getting the best tasting, least decayed, brewer-intended flavors?  Stone provides an answer to this problem with their "Enjoy By" series.  Other brewers simply use "brewed on" dates on their bottles or cans, but Stone is definitely putting their dates front and center in an attempt to promise drinkers a fresh, tasty, hoppy experience.  If you were buying a hoppy beer, wouldn't one of the factors to consider be the freshness of the brew?  Stone hopes so.  Time to see what they're offering.  Though with an IPA from Stone, a consistent maker of hop heavy styles, one can generally count on high quality.  I wanted to drink one as close to the date as possible to have it at its "worst" and see how it holds up.  Let's pour!

Aroma 12/12

It's got almost every hoppy aroma that I can think of short of wood, pepper, and herb.  First sniffs are beautiful and sweet, full of pineapple, pine, sweet sticky caramel malts, and grape fruit.  As the drink warms more grassy and musty notes arrive and they grow more noticeable to tame the amazing initial aroma.  It only grows to a moderate intensity, blending with the sweetness for balance, but not covering or overtaking it.

Appearance 3/3

When first poured, the beer is capped with a peach pastel colored head that slowly fades to ivory shades as the beer trapped within is drawn to its brothers below.  That beer pours a golden orange shade that is screaming for fall to arrive.  It is a slightly hazed beer in an earthy tangerine hue.  The colored head won me over.

Flavor 17/20

Not what I was expecting.  Given the nose of this beer, I anticipated a nice sweet introduction full of those sugary caramel malts and a grove's worth of citrus.  In the words of the venerable Judge Smails, "You'll get nothing and like it!"  The malts at the beginning were neutral at best or completely destroyed by the mothership of hop bitterness that just landed on my tongue.  OK, so maybe it's not the mothership, but it's enough to destroy any other flavors and it looks like it's headed for the White House.  Maybe a splash of citrus survives this resin onslaught, but little else.  I wrote down earlier that I could find a semblance of the caramel, but I may have been drinking at the time.  All there is now is a distant citrus, plentiful black pepper, and lots of bitter of the back of my tongue.  Oddly, the finish shows some malt!  The beer's body clearly indicates that Stone didn't skimp on adding malt, but you're hard pressed to find much of it in the flavor.  The finish instantly ends the black pepper flavors and continues the bitter.  This doesn't even give the illusion of balance, even if the caramel and alcohol heat do become slightly more present as the beer warms.

Mouthfeel 5/5

Body is great for a DIPA, big without being a chore to drink.  Peppery tingles remain on the tongue for some time after swallowing and carbonation is spot on perfect for a beer of this size - it permits for texture while largely staying out of the picture.  This beer is 9.4% ABV and is camouflaged but can be detected in a few of the exhales when you take a break between sips.

Overall Impression 6/10

One dimensional beers just don't win me over.  Now, I will say that I have had other Stone "Enjoy By" dates both on draught and in bottles and I recall enjoying those more than I did this.  The aroma was incredible, the mouthfeel was spot on for a DIPA, the ABV well hidden, and the appearance was solid.  The flavor was the only thing that I felt was not on par for Stone's normally superior performance in the realm of Americanized IPAs.

Total 43/50

Of course my first thought is, "Did I let it get to close to the 'enjoy by' date?  Should I have drank it earlier?"  Maybe.  However, if Stone says it's good for another 2 days, then they'd know better that I would.  Besides, isn't that what this whole beer is about: making sure the beer is fresh and providing a date with which you shoul expect a lower quality?  In their defense, I suppose I drank it toward the tail end of its optimum freshness, but I also suppose that I still expected excellence inside of that date.  Granted, excellence was not far off.  In fact, in every category where flavor was not a factor this beer received perfect marks!  However, the hop bitterness seized control like an ambitious despot and cruelly subjugated its inferiors.  Do the hops play nicer in fresher batches?  Undoubtedly.  However, this beer just goes to show exactly what it sets out to: fresher is better.  If this is it close to its worst, you know it's worth picking up earlier from that date.  For those that like bitter beer, you could  even pick this up after the date on its bottle, otherwise don't expect a lot beyond the bitter of an otherwise fantastic DIPA.

Surly - Wet

Well, this is one of those beers that I never thought I was going to be able to try. It sells quick, it doesn’t distribute outside the brewer's home state, and while I have plenty of family in Minnesota, I don’t have a go to trading partner up there. So when my wife brought back some Boston-based Wachusett beer for some friends that used to live there, imagine my surprise when they responded in kind with this little gem! Thanks Jim & Anne!  In fact, I only received this beer last night, but so much of its reputation is based on freshness that I wanted to drink it and review it as soon as possible.

For those not familiar with Surly’s Wet, it boasts on its can that the hops are picked on Day1, shipped on Day 2, and used on Day 4 so that the hops never have a chance to dry out.  Different hop varieties are used so the brew may vary a bit, but rest assured that will this much attention being paid to freshness (or "Ultra-Fresh" as the can states) you are all but guaranteed a big resiny treat.  The beer that I am reviewing today was canned on 10/1/2012.

Please excuse both my recent posting infrequency as I have just moved into my first house. There are features of said house that will definitely warrant their own post in the coming months. This also means that I haven’t yet set up a great spot to take pictures of these amazing beers, so bear with me.  Let's pour!

Aroma 12/12
Things begin with some very pleasant pine and orange rind notes. Rising up just behind those are mangos, pineapples, and some resin lingering in the background. However, once the beer begins to warm the resin takes on more of a primary role with the rind and gives a very “bitter orange” vibe to the overall character. Along with this resin comes some pretty strong grassy notes and since I happen to love that particular hop trait, it is most welcome. For those of you keeping track, yes I’ve only talked about the hop aromas thus far. The malts are in there, but are very far back and only open up once the beer has warmed. I’m thankful they show up as it gives the beer a more substantial, intense aroma and their sweetness helps to emphasize the sweet hop aromas like the pineapple. 

Appearance 3/3
This beer pours lighter than I expected, but still looks like a million damn dollars. It shines like a orange sapphire (yes, there are orange sapphires, smarty pants) and enjoys much of the same brilliance and clarity. Its robust eggshell colored head is maintained by a constantly ascending carbonation. The head forms slowly but builds tall and fluffy, before settling a bit and taking on more of a whipped cream texture. If any photographers out there are looking to create stock images of beer and what it should look like, this is it. Wow! Also worth mentioning, I’ve written the review up until this point with beer in my glass and the head is still present! I’ve never seen retention like this. Top marks and extra sparkle magic unicorn rainbow brownie bonus points to Surly for this! 

Flavor 19/20
First impressions are everything and this beer’s impression is bitter. I’m anxious to see what happens once my taste buds acclimate a bit more to the bitterness. Interestingly enough, the bitter in the first sips can be sensed in accented waves, each punctuating its own beginning. My initial notes read as, “woody, resin, long lasting bitter” and I’m pretty sure a part of my tongue went numb. Thankfully it recovered, finally acclimated, and then other flavors begin to emerge. Most notably are a muted pineapple and a sweet malt that I am having trouble placing. It’s sweet and lighter and almost sugary, which makes me think honey but the flavor isn’t correct for honey. This malt flavor is more fruitlike and definitely not the typical caramel malts used in making heavy duty West Coast IPAs. A quick wine taster’s slurp gives me little additional information, only a splash pineapple, a hint of the warmth, some nice pepper spice, and shot of pure resin. The finish is (obviously) not as intensely bitter as when I started this glass, but it still unapologetically offers its own take. Immediately after swallowing is a mellow sweetness, detectable only after one’s tongue has been adequately prepared for the resin, and then an intense aspirin-like bitter that fades in to tie up any loose ends. In hindsight, the sweet malts that confused me earlier are probably caramel malts that taste sweeter with melding with pineapple from the hops. It’s a great combination!

Mouthfeel 5/5
A big bodied beer to hold some big flavors. It rolls around in the mouth like mercury, but the hops’ spicy pepper note give a prickly sensation on the tongue and keeps it from becoming sluggish. The carbonation that was so present in the glass and contributing to the head is still ascending in subsequent pours, but this diminishes its presence in the mouth. The result is a beer that feels exceptionally smooth and silky thanks to an unobtrusive carbonation that dies quickly once inside the mouth. The warmth that became present during a slurp really never had much more presence than that. 

Overall Impression 9/10 
This beer is impressive, but definitely has the potential to be more-so if drank closer to its birth date.  I feel that the main consequence is that the fruits in the aroma do not come out as well in the flavor, resulting in a less complex beer than it was created to be. At 2 ½ months of age, this beer still has plenty going for it. It’s head and appearance were fantastic, its aroma was excellent, and it’s tasty as all get out. Right now it stands as a strong West Coast IPA, but at a younger age it could truly stand out from the pack. The only question is how to do that. How can you possibly get this beer with any less hop deterioration than Surly has tried to do?

Total 48/50

The answer to the question in the previous sentence is, “you don’t.” Surly has made more than an earnest effort to get a beer into its customers’ waiting hands that is as fresh as they can possibly make it and can it. Any further action lies in the hands of distributors, retailers, and how quickly craft beer drinkers can snatch it off the shelves. I dig this beer as a whole, with only minor nit-picky issues here and there. If Surly had the same distribution abilities as Oskar Blues, this beer would compete nationally with Deviant Dales. Hop heads should of course seek it out as fresh as possible, but if you’re not accustomed to how relentless hops can be, you may wanna sit this one out. This beer is a stern reminder than Minnesota is not just a state of quiet, polite, church-going folk. It’s also a state filled with potential hockey defensemen ready to administer a hockey stick enema if you stand in their crease too long. So noted, Surly. So noted.

Stone - Ruination 10th Anniversary

As if Stone's regular version of Ruination wasn't aggressive enough, for their tenth anniversary of the brew they really upped the ante.  The ABV jumps from 7.7% to 10.8% and they used TWICE an much hops in the brewing process (5 lbs/bbl).  That number doesn't even include the pound each of Citra and Centennial used in the drop hopping!  This brings it up to a sadomasochistic 110 IBUs and undoubtedly intoxicating aroma.  I figured this would be a good choice to review today as it should have no issues blasting through to my allergy laden sinuses.  I also selected this brew as Stone is not the only one celebrating an anniversary.  This week was my third wedding anniversary and like Stone's, it will be bitter (just kidding, wife).  My wife may have left town to go to Boston to see her sister and I will be giving her crap about that for the next 50 years even though she is well aware how flexible I am with dates typically reserved for celebration.  All joking aside, I'm very excited to be cracking open this beer (and to be married to such a patient woman).  Let's pour!

Aroma 12/12

On a day where my sinuses seem bent on revolution and forming their own sovereign state, this beer speaks as sweetly to them as any ambassador.  Immediately detectable are pineapple, lemon zest, grapefruit, and pine.  Traveling behind those, in an appropriately viscous manner, is a slow-moving, dank resin and a gooey caramel/toffee combination.  Awesome.  Awesome.  Awesome.  As the beer warms, mandarin oranges show up for the anniversary celebration as well as a hint of alcohol warmth.

Appearance 3/3

What an appropriate color for the newly-arrived fall months.  A cloudy glowing gourd shade of orange fills the glass and exhibits a wonderfully-sized cream colored head.  There's a fair bit of lacing, even if it seems that the weight of the beer would prefer to pull it right back into the glass.

Flavor 20/20

Whoa!  Where to start with this?!  After a gentle wash of caramel sweetness on the tip of the tongue and a playful citrus preview, this beer becomes more bitter than a custody battle.  Over septuplets.  This beer while not defining unbalanced, definitely spoils the hops and lets them get away with murder.  The bitter taste in the backbone of this beer is unlike anything I've ever drank.  It simply permeates everything.  I can't say that the beer is unbalanced, since there are other malt elements at work here.  However, the hops put their own tint on everything as if they were imitating Picasso's Blue Period.  What's especially neat is that the other flavors DO remain detectable, but they are now a "bitter" version of themselves.  Bitter caramel.  Bitter oranges.  Bitter pineapple.  You name the flavor and this beer has transmutated it into something completely different.  The finish is rather like a Wile. E Coyote cartoon, where it experiences an unusual hovering of sweetness before falling promptly into a unrelenting bitter (minus the tiny umbrellas and exclamatory signs).  I should also mention that the bitter involved in all phases of this beer is akin to chewing on an ibuprofen tablet, though much more muted.  It is sharp and commands attention.  The aftertaste is equally unrelenting and the sticky nature of this beer allows it to linger longer than in-laws during the holidays.  I mean, the bitter just goes on.  And on.  It dries the mouth insanely well and one's common sense is challenged when taking another sip, knowing that it was the beer that caused the problem in the first place!

Mouthfeel 5/5

This beer will absolutely coat every surface your mouth like fresh stucco.  You can't get rid of it!  This thick and sticky brew traps the bitter flavors in on your tongue and holds it hostage.  The carbonation is wisely left in the shadows for this brew.  It can be confused with alcohol heat and hop spice in initial sips, but ultimately it serves to add to a silky quality.

Overall Impression 9/10

I am only halfway through this brew and am already aware that this is going to be a battle.  It is just such  a strong brew!  The aroma is powerful, the taste is Herculean, and the body is titanic.  That said, this beer accepts no excuses, but I find myself wishing it were a bit more forgiving.  There are some really beautiful flavors present in this beer, but they are shoved violently into the lockers as the hop bitter and alcohol make their way down the high school hallway of your palate.  I certainly cannot fault this beer for not being flavorful enough.  This beer is intense and only for those experienced in the ways of hops and craft beer.

Overall Impression 49/50

For what it is, this beer earns an appropriately high score.  You want DIPA?  You got DIPA.  In fact, this supersedes DIPA and you could probably give it some new, confusing nomenclature (DIPA+, TRIPA?).  However, when it comes down to it there are other factors at play in this beer and they definitely deserve their time in the spotlight.  Yes, DIPAs and IIPAs need to be somewhat abrasive.  After all, isn't that why we buy them?  While the answer should be yes, this beer makes that decision almost punitive.  This brew is certainly a sipper and is sure to please even the most staunch of hop heads.  It's good for what it is, but I could use a intermission from all its unabashedness.  This beer is a monster and I hate to say it, but it kicked my ass.  Consider my palate ruined, Stone.  You've done your job well.

Sources:

http://www.stonebrew.com/ruintenth/

Shmaltz - Hop Manna

I don't really know what to say about this beer as I haven't yet heard much about it.  Though I have been impressed with other Shmaltz offerings, such as their Coney Island Lager and their collaboration with Terrapin, the Reunion Ale.  In any case, I approach this beer with nothing but an open mind as I really don't have any other choice.  Well, the label says that it's dry-hopped with the Big 3C of hops (Centennial, Cascade, & Citra), so I suppose I should expect a really nice aroma, right?  One way to find out.  Let's pour!

Aroma 10/12

When the beer is colder than the desired serving temperature, almost all the major players in the aroma come from the malts.  It starts with straw and some neutral, body-giving malts, but also finds caramel and rich dark bread.  As it warms the hops begin to do their thing.  A pine is first, but it is made fresher and more crisp by a light citrus backdrop.  Grass is also easily detectable in this really nice blend of cohesive scents courtesy of a dry-hopping with Centennial, Cascade, and Citra hops.  Despite being dry-hopped, this aroma eventually settles into a pine-forward balance.  Well done.

Appearance 3/3

This beer falls into the glass in a handful or orange and siennas with some citrine accents on the bottom.  Sorry, normally I try to abstain from obscure color references, let alone multiple ones, but those are the colors that come first to mind.  It's capped off by a nice cream-colored head that shows adequate size and retention.

Flavor 17/20

I may have misspoke about the sweetness in the aroma.  Granted, a large portion of it is going to come from the dry-hopping, but now I'm questioning how large a contribution the malts made because they make virtually no contribution to the flavor's sweetness.  Normally, in an IPA one expects a sweet initial wash of flavor to counter the pending hops.  Not in this brew.  It begins with hop bitters and the neutral 2-row malts detected in the aroma.  When sitting in the mouth, I find the beer does just that - sit.  There's not a lot of flavor transition here.  The malts add some biscuity goodness, which adds a nice crispness to a style than can quickly become far too sweet, and there are some grassy hops with a citrus tinge, but that's about it.  This is closer to a pale ale/APA than an IPA in my book.  The finish is essentially a continuation of the backbone - dry, bisuity malts and a citrus backsplash - but for the first time we are shown a bit of the resin and it is a welcome arrival.

Mouthfeel 5/5

The 2-row malts give a nice body, as expected, and the carbonation stays largely out of the way, keeping this beer smooth, appropriately-bodied, and very drinkable.  The 6.8% ABV is never a factor.

Overall Impression 8/10

For an IPA, especially one entitled "Hop Manna," this brew comes across as a little light as far as hops are concerned.  Certainly, not a bad beer, but could easily make a name for itself in the craft beer world with a bit more "oomph."  It has a great, ever-changing aroma and a solid mouthfeel, but the flavor didn't knock me out for a 22 oz. bomber bragging about its hops.

Total 42/50

Now, I may have been a little negative about this beer and its lack of hops, however, it is far from a bad beer.  In fact, as a pale ale or even a APA this beer would rival anything on the market, ranking right up beside such powerhouses as Three Floyds' Alpha King.  As it stands, the hops were not nearly aggressive enough (faded?) and the beer didn't offer that IPA malty sweetness.  I'll remember this brew as a remarkable pale ale and recommend it to people as such.  It might not have been what Shmaltz was aiming for, but they hit a target nonetheless.  L'Chaim!

Oskar Blues - Deviant Dales

The first time I had Deviant Dales was at a bar in Washington D.C. called Elephant & Castle Pub and they were charging $12 for a pint can.  I was desperate to try it for the first time and so I splurged and got a can.  I did not regret that action.  Today, I am finally reviewing Deviant Dales as part of "/r/beerblogs" community on Reddit.  In a rather neat idea, a bunch of bloggers are reviewing it together and then posting/sharing the results with each other.  Since it was the first time we've tried something like this, the response wasn't exactly overwhelming.  However, such things will be tried again and I look forward to more community interactions and discussions with fellow beer bloggers.  If you're interested in finding more on the Reddit community for beer blogs you can check that out by clicking here.

Also, as a side note Oskar Blues is one of my favorite breweries and I have yet to be disappointed by their offerings.  Their Ten Fidy is one of my favorite stouts ever and their Old Chub scotch ale is out of this world.  If, for some strange reason, you are still not a believer that good things can come in cans, Oskar Blues is out to prove you wrong.  Buy some and try it.  You won't regret it.  But now... on to the Deviant Dale's!  Let's pour!

Aroma 11/12

So many hop aromas at once!  The nose is initiated with a blend of pine and pineapple, but the pineapple soon reveals itself to be a citrus medley full of pineapple, grapefruit, lemon, and some cleansing grassy notes. As you can imagine, it makes for a rather tart hop profile.  Resin enters the picture fashionably late, arrogantly aware of its own importance.  Malts at this point are a muted brown sugar flavor.  However, the sweetness blends so well with the sweet hop aromas and the malt aromas are so distant in this hop-forward beer, that the malts are hard to define even at a proper serving temperature.

Appearance 3/3

This is a B-E-A-U-tiful beer.  When held to light it's a sunset in a glass.  When set on a table it's rusty, dusty orange-red.  When held in front of you, those oranges seem to glow from within, as if there were embers on the very bottom of the glass.  The head was about a finger thick of a dense, orange-pastel colored foam.  It was a great look to top off an already great looking beer!

Flavor 19/20

The first few sips seem dominated by resin in most phases of the beer until the tongue becomes a bit more acclimated and then other flavors become more apparent.  The initial flavors are a rush of resin over a caramel malt that is desperate to be heard.  The primary flavors of the beer slowly fall into place as a big, fat, sweet caramel note shares a park bench with an equally large resin bitter.  The two arrange a really nice, if not precarious, balance with support from some sweet lemon citrus (now appearing caramelized thanks to the malts) and, if held long enough in the mouth, a spicy hop note as well.  Giving this beer a wine-tasters' slurp shifts those flavors into "Ludicrous Speed" and is super intense.  Also, as this beer warms beyond proper serving temp, the peppery hops really come forward and add an interesting tingle to the existing bitter.  Eventually the malts fade away entirely and the hops are left to their own devices to start the finish.  The finish offers little except a reprise of the bitter before the beer slides lazily down the throat, leaving the mouth bitter and the back of the throat slick.

For those not understanding the Ludicrous Speed reference.

Mouthfeel 5/5

The loads of sweet malt let this beer slide over the tongue and provide for no foaming action in the mouth, even when given a slight swish.  The carbonation is minimal, but what is present speaks loudly.  This gives the impression of more carbonation that is actually present, but without disrupting the smooth, heavy mouthfeel.  Well done.  The 8.0% ABV is really only present in a minor way during the finish and otherwise remains unseen.

Overall Impression 10/10

I really like this beer.  It's a chewy, thick, sweet, bitter slap to the tastebuds that leaves you wanting another can.  In fact, I just opened another can.  I wish the hop flavors were a bit stronger in order to offer a bit more complexity to the "caramel vs. resin" battle, but it's still a damn good beer all the same.  This is a big beer that's worth the price of admission.

Total 48/50

Did any of us really doubt the deliciousness that would be present in an "upper echelon" Oskar Blues product?  It has a great aroma, gargantuan flavors, a big smooth body to carry them, and a deceptive ABV. "Well, if it has all those characteristics why didn't you give it a perfect 50," asked both people reading.  Fair question.  Frankly, I thought the aroma was just short of amazing.  It is certainly delicious and definitely delectable, but fell short of me rolling my eyes and uttering an expletive.  Also, as mentioned earlier I felt that the hop flavors were under utilized.  Certainly a few hop flavors are present like pine and citrus, but they are an afterthought compared to the giant bitter and caramel notes.  They've certainly added hops at the beginning and the end of the boil, but it seems that the "flavor" issuance of hops received the short straw.  Or maybe the sweet flavors of hops are being usurped by the sweet malts.  Or maybe the freshness has something to do with it.  These beers were canned on 4-03-2012, making them about 5 months old.  Looks like they're a little older than I thought.  I imagine that given a fresh can, this could be a perfect score.  I'll just have to find a fresh can... just to be sure.  This is definitely a premier IPA and not to be missed.

Sierra Nevada - Hoptimum (2012)

I started writing this review a while ago. So far, I've had two bottles of my Sierra Nevada Hoptimum and each bottle has been completely different. They were each good in their own right; the first seemed like a resinous wallop and the second was a fruit smorgasbord. Needless to say, the hops are mellowing and their different characteristics are really coming through as of late, making this beer much more than a hop bomb. That was around 2 weeks ago, so I'm really anxious to see what condition these hops are in now. But first, I have a question... It says on the label that it is a "Whole cone Imperial IPA" and I don't know what that means. I assume, it's when they add the "whole cone" or hop blossom to the boil (or thereafter if dry hopping). However, what I don't know is if this is not standard practice already. Or is this just to differentiate between brewers that might instead use hop pellets, just the petals, or extracts? If any of your homebrewing experts wish to speak up in the comments, I'm all ears. Time to get this party started. Let's pour!

Aroma 11/12
When I first poured this beer, it was too cold and I was worried that I had waited too long to review it and that as a consequence the hops had lost the potency of their delicious fruity, nectar-saturated aromas. It began with a hint of wet hey, but rapidly showed the standard pine/grapefruit. The fruits seemed diminished and mixed with a grassy note. At this point, I was mostly getting apple and white grape-type fruits. Sweet, but not particularly strong. Then the beer began to warm and things really started going. The pine aromas took off like a shot and tried to hide an apricot scent behind them. Wait another few minutes and that apricot aroma seems to have found its own voice and morphed into a more tropical version of itself. This pine/tropical apricot (nectarine?) combination carries the majority of the aroma the rest of the way through the beer. There is a subtle spice that loiters in the background and a much less subtle alcohol burn that has been detectable the entire time. Halfway through the bottle the beer's sugary malts become less bashful and give the drinker the impression that this beer is going to be a sticky one.


Appearance 3/3
The beer produces a fairly low amount of head even after an aggressive pour.  What head does result is an attractive rusty pastel color, creamy in appearance, and light in texture.  The brew's color is any of those shades found in a cooked squash with some darker coppers and ambers thrown in for good measure.  There's some good lacing left on my glass and this pleases me because I don't remember the last time that happened in a review.  Good Karma points are also awarded for having some great bottle art.

Flavor 17/20
This beer blitzkriegs the tongue! Before you've barely had a chance to recognize the thick caramel and almost brown sugar sweetness, the beer shifts into high gear and puts a medicinal bitter on the back of your palate. Seriously. As in, "I think a tiny, vengeful gnome is gleefully dissolving an aspirin on my tongue" type of bitter. It is sharp and unrelenting. The earlier sweetness could be considered balancing if it remained in the mouth after the hops spread their tremendous, terrible wings. It does become a little easier to imagine a bit of balance toward the middle of the bottle once the bitter has lost a bit of its sting, but make no mistake about it - this beer is called Hoptimum, not Maltimum, for a reason. Wow! What a big, bitter bastard. The finish is, of course, more bitter but on quicker swallows does allow the sugary malts to timidly make direct eye contact with you from time to time. If it asks nicely. This is also where most of the warmth can be found. It's far from a burn, but it's not a secret either. The aftertaste is remarkably clean considering how potent the earlier flavors were. The only lingering flavor is that of the aspirin. I blame the gnome.

Mouthfeel 5/5
From the very first sip, this beer is thick and threatens to coat your tongue with each flavor it possesses.  The carbonation is all but absent.  However, a light swish in the mouth reveals that not only is it present, but it helps add a silky smooth texture.  A large body to match a large flavor and in a good way.  As mentioned earlier the alcohol is allowed to present itself at a few points in the brew and each time it is a compliment to the existing powerhouse on display.  This is how big beers should be made.

Overall Impression 8/10
Big body.  Big flavor.  Almost constantly changing aroma.  This beer is definitely a sipper and perhaps not one you'd want to have every day.  Hop heads will love it, balance-seekers... not so much.  If one of your friends is talking about really getting into hoppy beers, you could test their mettle with this brew.  Even experienced IBU imbibers know that this beer is not to be trifled with.

Total 44/50
With Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum, you get what you see.  A beer for Hopheads that never promises to be anything else.  I mean, literally!  Look at the label art!  I myself would normally like to see more balance in a brew, but much like Green Flash's Palate Wrecker, every once in a while you need something unapologetically bitter and strong.  This definitely fits the bill.  Because it knows what it wants to be, I can't and won't deduct points for lack of balance.  However, I have gotten two different experiences out of the three bottles that I've had.  Two were very much like the beer found in this review: big, hoppy, and bitter.  The odd bottle in the middle seemed much more content to let the thick tropical fruit smells waft forward, provide a more complex sweetness (from said fruits), and be much more of a beer than the "resinous challenge" that I labeled the first beer in my tasting notes!  I'll look forward to the last bottle, though I anticipate it will be more of the "hop bomb" experience and less of the nuanced powerhouse that I'm hoping for.  In fairness, it's probably easier for brewers to make (and mass-produce) the former instead of the latter, but the former earns total scores like this and the latter earns, or at least deserves, national acclaim.

New Glarus - Hop Hearty

New Glarus seems to be locally known more for their general line-up of beer, but the national acclaim tends to come from their fruit beers and rightly so.  Their fruit beers (Raspberry Tart & Wisconsin Belgian Red) are two of the most authentic fruit beers you will find.  Their authenticity does not allow them to become "candied" or an excessive sugary sweet.  In any case, when New Glarus temporarily shifted gears to put out a seasonal that emphasized hops instead of fruits (Apple Ale, Cherry Stout, Cran-bic, etc), I definitely took notice.  Today's review is for said hoppy beer, New Glarus' Hop Hearty IPA.  I have possessed it for a while, but I don't believe long enough for the hops notes to wither away entirely, even if it is certainly not as it was when fresh.  Let's pour!

Aroma 11/12

This begins with some stronger straw notes with a little bit of must behind it.  As the beer warms, the hops emerge more and more in an acidic citrus that is both cleansing and fresh, an odd (but not unwelcome) departure already from the previous aroma.  Things continue to impress as an authentic "freshly ground grain" aroma grows strong and joins with the hops.  When I say grain, I mean "exactly like those little dishes they pass around on brewery tours so that everyone can smell the grains."  It's obviously not as intense, but the scent is as unmistakable as it is delicious.  The clean hops and the fresh grain both give this beer an amazingly balanced and natural smell.

Appearance 3/3

A nice, light tan head arises to an acceptable level, retains well, and slowly settles to cover the surface.  The beer itself is quiet striking.  It pours a bright copper with pumpkin shades within, but with a red tinge to the whole works.  Very neat.  For an IPA, however, the lacing is disappointing.

Flavor 18/20

Things begin with a distant hop bitter, but quickly move into a brighter hop citrus melding with a caramel's sweetness.  The hops make the caramel appear more sugary than it perhaps truly is, but the combination is truly balanced, even if it's not at all what one normally expects in an IPA.  This is not remarkably complex, but it is ridiculously well done.  The finish brings a bit more of the authentic grain into play and also leaves a light bitter that coats the mouth.  The aftertaste is almost entirely clean and with only a hint of the grain left in the mouth, you'd swear the light bitter was from it and not hops.  For an IPA, there is very little hop presence here, but they really make it work.

Mouthfeel 5/5

Nothing wrong here.  In fact, this brew's body and carbonation only further contribute to this beer's incredibly refreshing nature.  Its body is not so thick like other IPAs, nor its carbonation far and few between to help add to that illusion.  On the contrary, its body (medium/medium-full) seems lighter than the flavors would have you believe and the carbonation is anything but sparse, yet diminuative so as not to disrupt the beer as a whole.  Combine those two characteristics with the fresh citrus and natural grain and you've got yourself a most refreshing, natural feeling beer.

Overall Impression 10/10

This is a departure from a lot of IPAs on the market and, oddly, a seeming return to the roots of the style.  It truly seems like a beefed up pale ale!  There is a light, refreshing, nature to it from the citrus, carbonation, and strong grainy malts, but the hop presence is more than is required of a pale ale.  If you're a regular reader, you know my descriptions can be pretty lengthy.  Not for this beer.  Each paragraph is short and succinct thanks to this beer's simple, well-brewed nature.  What a great, refreshing beer!

Total 46/50

Fresh, non-syrupy, and with great balance this IPA is one that is not going to feel like a chore to drink on a hot, summer day.  The hops aren't even heavy-handed.  They're presented wondrously in a balanced beer that is sure to please those looking for more than to be beaten over the head with a sack of hops (though that does sound like the best punishment ever).  If this is still around (Note: I haven't been to Wisconsin in a while), go buy it.  It's a great IPA that doesn't skimp on flavor to deliver a balanced, tasty, refreshing, true to style, bottle of goodness.  While it's not quite the aroma powerhouse that some other New Glarus beers are, this just became one of my favorites from them regardless.  I'll be looking for this again!  Cheers!

Hoppin' Frog - Hop Heathen

I love beer trades!  Today's beer I would normally never have had access to were it not for a trade catalyzed by "teh interwebz."  The new trading partner responsible for this brew, Eric (http://itsmedoublee.wordpress.com/ ), assures me that this brew, Hoppin' Frog Hop Heathen (Imperial Black Ale) came right off of the bottling line and I'm not one to sit around and let the hops fade away.  So let's pour!

Aroma 9/12

The aroma is not as strong as I would have hoped for considering that this brew utilizes some ingredients that are quite easily accessible to olfaction.  Pine is readily present as is a grapefruit citrus, but otherwise fairly clean as far as hops go with the exception of a distant, peppery, spice note.  As this beer warms the malts take over and they do a fine job.  The dark roast is first and initially seems somewhat mild (relative for the style) until the cocoa aroma blends with it and brings a bit of toffee along for the ride.  The three together are an excellent harmony.  Granted, I'm on the tail end of a cold, so my sniffer might not be 100%, but I can still breathe rather well through my nose, so I assume everything is in working order.  Boy!  Do those cocoa and toffee scents really ratchet things up as the beer warms!  Even the ABV shows up to play!  Spectacular.  I only wish it was a more powerful smell, because what they have here they should be proud of.

Appearance 3/3

All things appear to be black as night in this IBA, but when held to a window, the bottom of my glass revealed a nice coffee brown hue and even a ruby glint or two!  Unexpected and welcome!  The head is just over a finger high and the same creamy texture and tan shade you might find on top of a Guinness (ok, so initially it's more soapy).  It leaves a little lacing on the way down and maintains a higher than average retention.

Flavor 19/20

You're given a brief warning shot of cocoa and toffee before being flooded with burnt, roasted malts and a resinous hop.  It's a great combination that is bitter and means business, even if it is eventually cut with a lactose.  In any case, they settle down a bit and allow other flavors to play their part.  The resinous hops also show a piney note and the toffee comes in to sweeten the lot.  The reprise of the toffee is gently brought in, as well as an occasional, very authentic grain note, like toasted whole wheat bread (you know, the good kind with the nuts in it).  As it is held in the mouth the charred, bitter malts are primary, but now bring a strong, peppery spice with them that settles all over the surface of the tongue.  The finish enjoys the strongest collaboration of the brew as the pepper, charred notes, prickly alcohol warmth, and hop bitter all come together at just the right time and the result is fantastic!  All those flavors even allow for a bit of the hops' grapefruit to peek out and truly showcase the complexity of this beer.  Can't say enough about this beer's finish!  The aftertaste is bitter and in a way that is more char and less hops.  It doesn't linger long though and I attribute that to the other hops characteristics present in this beer.  Please ensure that you only drink (or serve) this beer lightly chilled.  Even as this bottle warms, the beer as a whole becomes so much sweeter as the toffee and lactose sugars become increasingly bold.

Mouthfeel 5/5

I'd say that the carbonation is dead on for this brew, even down to the end of the bottle.  I also enjoy a lot of the tactile sensations that the beer gives: the eventual warmth, the peppery prickle, and the moderate-full body.  Nothing is distracting and the things that are distinct go well together and contribute to the overall experience.

Overall Impression 9/10

The beer starts out as a solid IBA, but as it warms it truly sets itself apart as the sweetness of the contributing flavors rises to the level of the primaries and creates a more balanced, delicious beer that is both dark and hoppy.  I've had some IBAs before, but this one seems to stand alone.  It has slightly less sweetness that some of the super-agressive IPAs have (120 Minute, etc), an equal alcohol presence, much less hop profile, but replaces the majority of that hop profile with dark, roasted malty goodness.  Excellent technical qualities (appearance & mouthfeel) only add to the experience.

Total 45/50

While IBAs might not be my favorite style on the planet, it would be impossible to deny that this is a damn tasty beer.  Now is this beer all hops?  Despite the name, no.  Rather, they are presented in a fashion that most are not accustomed to (including myself).  Allow me to explain:  most hop-laden beers are several groves worth of citrus, a pine tree or two, some grass, and a healthy dose of resin.  This brew focuses instead on the hop spiciness and a lesser amount on the resinous quality.  In fact, I get more of the dark malts than I do the hops.  That said, hop heads might be a bit disappointed if they are looking for nothing but hops.  However, those open to tasty experiences regardless of the label's description will be pleased nonetheless.

Founders - Devil Dancer

I have been debating picking this up for a while now.  I even went as far as to ask around the blogosphere for opinions.  I finally decided I could resist no longer, although the $20.99 price tag on a four-pack did make me reconsider more than once.  I was also a little hesitant because it was bottled almost two months ago and I seem to have a nasty habit of sampling IPAs past their fresh, hoppy best.  I'm not sure if 2 months is too long, but I'm not going to let it get any worse.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission  for educational purposes only.

Aroma 12/12
I can't recall if I have ever smelled such a complex hop profile.  As soon as the bottle is opened the aroma rushes out.  Once poured, it starts very grassy and not without some musty/funky notes.  It slowly shows more fruit sweetness, but it is not the citrus we so often associate with hops.  This is more like white grapes or apples and very nice.  A spice note then joins the fray and combines with the grassy smell to make something that smells almost like marijuana.  Maybe even like wet, decomposing leaves in the fall.  Warmth becomes gradually more apparent without interfering and last to the party are the pine needles.  This is outstanding!

Appearance 3/3
While the generous head does not remain for a gratuitous amount of time, it does its job and then remains as a disc on the surface.  The color is phenomenal!  A radiating orange glow of pumpkin and rust and not without its redder highlights.  Blood orange anyone?  Gorgeous.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 20/20
A thick, creamy, caramel-laden malt is the first to greet you.  And it has an firm-ass handshake!  Wow!  The transitions into the backbone with brown sugar-like sweetness and a faint dark fruit.  How do they get this much malt into one bottle?  The IBU's are listed at 112, but with all this malt it almost seems balanced.  In the same way a symphony would if you played it through rock concert speakers.  The pine, fruit, and resin are strong and present at the sides of the tongue, but tend to fade a bit when it is held in the mouth.  Again... big, huge, truckloads of caramel and brown sugar.  Not in an overly sweet way, but in a MONSTER beer way.  The finish is instantly resinous and bitter, but once the beer has run over the back of the tongue it fades back into a balance with the malt but with bitter peppery lingerings.  The aftertaste is an ink-like bitter and lots of the pepper.  All sweetness has left, but the beer does not leave the mouth dry.  I just noticed that in that whole flavor profile that not once was the 12% ABV mentioned.  Talk about well camouflaged!

Mouthfeel 5/5
To say that this is a big beer, feels like an understatement.  It is insanely full-bodied, thick, and makes you want to scrape the extra flavor off of the sides of your tongue with your teeth.  The carbonation becomes very low toward the end of the bottle, but oddly enough, the peppery hops tend to give it that little extra prickly sensation even if it is in a false way.  Big flavors need big bodies and this beer delivers.  And amazingly, does so without becoming syrupy.

Overall Impression 10/10
Wow. Wow. and wow again.  This is a ginormous, gargantuan, goliathan, humongous, colossal beer.  Bitter beer lovers need look no further, though hop heads may be disappointed with the large amounts of balancing malts.  The ridiculously complex nose and intense, large flavors had me going and the technical prowess puts it over the top.  This is, without a doubt, a superior beer.

Total 50/50
This score makes this beer only the second ever that has received a perfect rating!  Boy, does it deserve it.  I may never hesitate to buy ridiculously expensive beer ever again!  The risk was definitely worth the reward in this case.  Craft beer lovers, I am speaking to you now.  Do whatever it takes to find this beer.  Lie, cheat, steal, swindle, barter, ransom, heckle, trespass, jaywalk, blackmail... it doesn't matter.  It will all be worth it in the end before you go to prison.  The flavor is immense (I'm not sure if I made that clear earlier), the aroma is probably a felony in 13 states, and I'm not sure, but I think my palate just got into a bar fight with Bas Rutten. 

The fact that I had gone 70+ reviews and never found a perfect score, but then find two within two weeks of each other is awesome to me.  It just goes to show that you never know where you're going to find you're next favorite beer and I'm SO glad I have 3 of these left.  Here's the best part: IPAs aren't even my favorite style of beer.  This beer is just that damn good.  I wish I could shout "Cheers!" loud enough so that the boys in Michigan could hear me.  Kudos Founders!  I'll definitely be looking for this one again.

Samuel Adams - Latitude Series (part 1)

No, my friends, the title did not lie to you.  Today's review will be for the whole Latitude 48 series from Samuel Adams.  OK, so it's not really a series, but for those of you unfamiliar with Samuel Adams Latitude 48, here's the scoop.  Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA is made with 5 different types of hops.  This summer, Samuel Adams was selling a "Latitude 48 IPA Deconstructed" 12 pack.  In this twelve pack the individual types of hops are given their own pair of bottles. 2 bottles of the "blend" and 2 bottles each of the 5 different types of hops used: Zeus, Goldings, Ahtanum, Simcoe, and Hallertau.  Whether or not you dig Samuel Adams or think they're "too big," this is a really cool idea and completely caters to the craft beer community.  There is no other place I would be able to easily sample this many single hop beers and compare/contrast them so quickly.  Plus, this is a great tool for developing your palate and being able to single out flavors in future beers!

Two final notes before I pour.  I will evaluate the first beer (Ahtanum Hops) with my customary 5 categories: aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel, and overall impression.  However, since I assume many of the characteristics to be extremely similar (mouthfeel, appearance) I will not be reevaluating those for every single hop variation unless one of those differs from the others.  Wouldn't it be safe to assume the appearance and mouthfeel would be similar?  Well, we all know what happens when one assumes.

The second thought is that I may be drinking these beers a bit too late.  As is common knowledge in the craft beer community, time breeds passive hop flavors.  This was proven to me recently in my Hop Juice Black that had lost its bite since its purchase only 2 months ago.  Needless to say, that episode definitely increased the urgency with which I wanted to sample this variety pack.  I only hope I didn't wait too long again and spoil what could have been an otherwise excellent exbeerience.

Let's pour!

First up, the Ahtanum Hop:

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 9/12
As the head arranges itself, a strong aroma of molasses comes forward and then melds into hops as the head settles.  The hop aroma is more complex than I would have assumed for a single hop!  A grapefruit citrus is first (and bold), but eventually settles into a wonderful blend of citrus, floral, and light hints of grass.  Quite nice and a challenge to those who wish to naysay against Samuel Adams.

Appearance 3/3
This brew is becoming more and more impressive.  It pours a fiery, brilliant copper and a lasting cream-colored cap.  Little lacing and high clarity are also of note, but do not capture the attention like the prior mentioned characteristics.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 17/20
An initial assault of prickly carbonation makes it difficult to pick out flavors.  The beer does start out with the molasses from the aroma and some crystal malts.  The sweetness is brief and takes a back seat to our featured hop.  The hop flavor is almost nothing like the aroma.  The sweet, nuanced blend of the aroma is gone, and instead we are given a strong pepper and resin mix.  The pepper is primary to the resin, but both do allow an underlying sweetness that is more akin to caramel than molasses.  The backbone also features a slightly-higher-than average hop bitter.  A nice touch to see in the middle, when many lesser IPAs wait until the suds wash over the back of the tongue to relay their bitter notes.  The finish here is almost a lighter bitter than the backbone (odd!), but after a few moments a second wave of bitter comes and is a neat surprise when you thought it was all said and done.  Aftertaste is light, but bitter and lightly resinous.

Mouthfeel 3/5
As you saw earlier, I couldn't even wait until the appropriate section to note this beer's initially inappropriate amount of prickly carbonation.  It falls dramatically (and thankfully) throughout the bottle and eventually compliments the beer quite nicely and maximizes refreshment.  Speaking of refreshment, this is a bit heavier than I would have anticipated by being just barely over what I could consider a "medium body," but it is partly caused by the dramatic fall in carbonation.  It seems a narrow window in which to drink this beer, being either too carbonated or almost too flat.

Overall Impression 8/10
A surprising offering from Samuel Adams considering the amount of "poo-pooing" that is often aimed their way.  This beer proves that they are not too big to make good beer.  A wonderful, though far from strong aroma, superb appearance, and a substantial flavor all make this beer worth buying.  It is also a strong argument to seriously consider their next seasonal variety.

Total 39/50
Good for you Samuel Adams!  This beer alone should shut some mouths about you being "too big," and I haven't even gotten to the rest of the variety pack yet.  This is pretty impressive.  I'll admit, I too don't exactly dive into the cooler to snag a Sammy Light, but I would for this.  This is hoppy, tasty, and well made.

Next up: the East Kent Goldings

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 4/12
The initial aromas are not attractive at all.  This is funky.  It's a battle to tell if it smells more like boiled vegetables or the well water from your grandmother's tap.  Thankfully, that fades away eventually though not completely.  Eventually a very sweet malt smell arises from it that seems to include some honey.  Crystal malt is again present as is a light, fleeting "tea" aroma.  I neglected to mention the tea aroma in the first review since I thought it was just a brief misstep on my part.  It was not, as it was present in this beer as well.  Virtually no hops present in the aroma, unless they are responsible for the earlier funkiness.  Not a good sign in an IPA.

Appearance 2/3
Head is not nearly as generous (1 finger), but it does leave better lacing.  Clarity is also higher.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 13/20
Again with the distracting carbonation.  I had to let it warm a bit.  There are lots of pale malts of front that charge headlong into a backbone of light pepper, lighter floral, a faint sour citrus, and hints of smoked meat.  Notes of the funk show through, but they are largely kept in the shadows.  The smoked meat becomes a lot stronger in the finish and joins a bitter than is intense, but not particularly abundant.  The aftertaste is a bit smoky and more the bitter from the finish.

Mouthfeel 4/5
Still ridiculously prickly in the beginning, but more creamy overall.  It also seems to hold its carbonation toward the end of the bottle a bit better than the prior bottle.

Overall Impression 4/10
Unusual flavors presented in a mild way.  Tea aroma, peppery backbone, and smoky lingerings are an unusual combination to say the least.  However, this is not to say that it could not be done in an enjoyable combination.  This simply doesn't seem to be said combination.

Total 27/50
I can see this hop's place and unfortunately it is not by itself nor surrounded by crystal and caramel malts.  This could really add to a rauchbier or a other beers requiring a smoky/peppery styling and a concentrated bitter finish.  Looking back, I could probably name several beers that have utilized this hop that I thought were a bit unusual.  The hop has potential, but its setting is dramatically holding it back.


Third will be the Hallertau Mittelfrueh

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 10/12
Starting out strong with rich, bready malts this beer quickly transitions into caramelized orange rind and other sweet citrus tones.  This is quite nice.

Appearance 3/3
A bit more orange than its counterparts, with a good amount of lacing from only a finger-sized head.  Its clarity matches that of the Goldings hop.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 15/20
Again with the carbonation.  This is a bit more of a crisp opening than the last two with their heavy crystal malts.  It also doesn't provide the sweetness, leaving a bit of a flavorless entry into the backbone.  The primary flavors in said backbone are a rush of spicy and bitter, but calmed by a second wave of biscuity malt, a caramel, and a citrus backdrop.  In an unusual twist, it almost becomes salty while sitting in the mouth.  The finish is creamy and bitter with the aftertaste bringing out a bit of pine plus some some concentrated bitter notes, even if the bitter notes' abundance (again) is somewhat lesser.  A quicker sip refocuses on the  main themes of orange, caramel, and bitter flavors.

Mouthfeel 4/5
Initial carbonation aside, everything is par for the course and similar to the other varieties.

Overall Impression 6/10
An average offering.  It tastes like an overly bitter amber ale.  Granted, this ale has more orange and not just the straight amber malts (an nice twist), but an citrusy sweet (yet not tart/sour) amber ale nonetheless.

Total 38/50
OK, so I'm a little embarassed to say that I just discovered that the descriptions of the hops are on the backs of the individual labels.  However, I'm glad I trusted my palate because the flavors that are stated to be in this beer are not detectable at all.  The label claims flavors of lemony citrus (I'll allow that) and resinous pine.  There was no pine to be found in this bottle.  Granted, that could be confirming my fear that I didn't drink these IPAs soon enough, but I stand by my taste buds.  Whether I read it or not, the song remains the same: caramel, citrus, bitter.   In that order.


In closing, I find that I should deviate from my plan to review all six Latitude 48 varieties in one sitting. I feel that 3 of them at 6% ABV each on an empty stomach, is not only getting me a little bit tipsy (not a bad thing), but effecting my writing and ability to clearly convey what I am experiencing.  That said, this will be Part 1, with part 2 to follow in the near future.  As it stands currently..


Ahtanum: 39/50
Hallertau: 38/50
East Kent Goldings: 27/50

To be continued...

Front Street - Raging River Ale

This brew, Front Street's Raging River Ale, was the second beer I had during my brief visit.  It was during this pint that I had a chance to talk to Jen, the wife of the husband/wife owner team.  In our brief talk she mentioned some talk of expansion!  This is great news for a local brewpub that definitely deserves its success.  Let's pour!

Photo again blatantly stolen from their website.

Aroma 10/12

The brew is definitely hop-leaning and the malt is not making its presence felt via the nose.  It is then a good thing that the hops are such a nice combination of citrus and pine.  This combined with an ester that recalls a bit of green apples is a very light and pleasant way to start this beer.

Appearance 2/3

A dark golden honey color with barely a covering of white head.  It is moderately translucent, bright, and very appealing in its shades of yellow.  Even an average amount of head and retention would have yielded a perfect rating in this category.

Photo is my own.

Flavor 18/20  

This beer starts off strong out of the gate with sweet notes of honey and almost a sugary sweetness!  Very light and refreshing.  The backbone starts with strong caramel tones, but has a lovely smorgasbord of sweet and light tartness involving the apple from the aroma, citrus from the hop, and a distinct floral tone that wraps everything up before featuring the hop bitter.   It should be noted that the hop flavors and bitter are almost completely separated in this brew.  The bitter does arrive in the very beginning of the finish.  It is an abrupt contrast to the prior sweetness, but an excellent finish that is appropriate for the style.  It continues the flowery sweetness while introducing the aforementioned hop bitter as well as an additional peppery hop flavor.  The pepper helps dry the finish and keeps it remarkably clean despite the mouth-watering sweetness introduced earlier.  Aftertaste is fairly clean, but does leave its bitter calling card on the edges of the tongue.

Mouthfeel 5/5

The beer has a medium body that feels heavier than its light color would have you believe.  Also, one is not accustomed to having light, hop-emphasizing beers attain this level of creaminess.  The carbonation is a perfect compliment and only adds to its refreshing nature being both abundant and non-distracting throughout the pint.  The mouthfeel is very nice and lends itself to the feeling that this is a more substantial offering of the style.

Overall Impression 9/10

This is a very impressive local offering!  It is clean, refreshing, bubbly beer with a complex hop profile.  It manages to neatly separate several hop varieties and showcase each one without becoming “hop crazy” or dominating the rest of the brew.

Total 44/50

This ranking puts this beer at the top of the excellent category and rightly so.  There is marvelous sweetness up front and a wonderful, complex garden full of hops to wrap up the flavor.  I am not sure how they separate the hop flavor and the bitter, but as I held it in my mouth I had to all but swallow it before those hop bitters became present.  It is definitely a two-phased beer.  This is not a bad thing; I rather enjoy the effect.   They finished it right by making this light ale with a dry finish.  I cannot wait to take another sip or order another.  Hoppy beers are not my forte, but I am coming to appreciate them more with every bottle.  This beer is no exception and I would recommend it to anyone taking that bold step into the world of IPAs and hoppy goodness.  As mentioned earlier, not only are hoppy beers not my forte, but they are also not usually my first choice off of the menu.  This beer is definitely an exception to the rule.  I will be back for this one.  Prost! 

Another stolen image.