Best Kept Secret

More Brewing Company

American Imperial IPA

8.4 by scot

No date on can but picked up two days prior at the brewery. Supposedly canned on Thursday. Therefore less than a week old. Pours opaque as a light colored beer can be. Great white foam covers. Good retention. Lacing begins in recession, leaving thick, sticky lacing. Aroma of dank, resinous and overripe fruit. The fruit is gentle with the dank and resin dominating. Light cracker sweetness. Taste has a bit more roundness: orange, ripe fruit, dank, resin, and a herbal/grass flavor. Light...read more

Overall Rating: 8.4 by 1 dude 100%

Ryed in the Clouds

More Brewing Company

American IPA - New England (NEIPA)

9.5 by scot

On site at the brewery. Pours opaque with plenty of white foam that thickly laces the glass. Retention is average. Looks like a typical NEIPA. Aroma has hints of rye in the background while the citrus, pineapple and juicy hops make you take notice. Taste follows the nose: orange, pineapple and, to a lesser extent, mango create a juicy drink. Rye definitely is there and is complimented by the hops. Medium body with light carbonation. Holds up the body in the finish. This is a really sol...read more

Overall Rating: 9.5 by 1 dude 100%

Phantom Hand

Drekker Brewing Company

American Pale Ale

9.4 by scot

Poured from a can void of a date. Pours cloudy, somewhat opaque. Ample white foam covers, leaving sticky, thick lacing behind. Good retention. Aroma of tropical fruit: mango, pineapple and orange. Light cracker far in the back. Herbal. Taste lacks the tropical punch but has some: pineapple and orange. More herbal and earth than the nose. Thoughts of grass. Medium body with medium carbonation. Dries. A smallish beer at five percent but packs a lot into such a small package. The aroma...read more

Overall Rating: 9.4 by 1 dude 100%

Freak Parade

Drekker Brewing Company

American Imperial IPA

9.3 by scot

Unfortunately from a can without a date. Pours opaque/hazy with copious amounts of thick, white foam that covers. Froths as it recedes, leaving thick lacing in its wake. Retention is average. Aroma that is mango, pineapple and orange. Bread and cracker malt is hinted but easily subdued by the tropical hops scents. Taste brings more of the aroma but fainter. Mango and orange highlight throughout. Notions of cracker backbone. Mouth is medium with light carbonation. Surprisingly creates a...read more

Overall Rating: 9.3 by 1 dude 100%

Cask Aged Tripel

Rockmill Brewery

Belgian Tripel

7.8 by scot

From a 2012 bottle. The pour lacks much foam, retention or lacing. Slightly hazing. Aroma is whiskey, oak with fruit: pear, green grape. Taste is more whiskey forward taking over for the more subtle pear and green grape of the base beer. Light end of big mouth feel. Carbonation is medium. Dry. The whiskey, even at 7 years old, really takes this beer over drowning out any Tripel in its wake. I would like more balance. Still has some great qualities but the price point scares me away fro...read more

Overall Rating: 7.8 by 1 dude 0%

Citrapolis

Modern Brewery

American IPA

8.2 by scot

Canned on 4/29/2019. Two weeks old at the time of tasting. Pours with a haze (but I don't believe it is a chill haze). Half inch of white foam covers. Retention is solid but nary much remains after a few minutes. Lacing is sticky and sporadic. Aroma is honey, bread crust, caramel, and hints of orange. Taste follows the nose. Honey, graham cracker, bread and caramel. Not much hop flavor but what is there is orange. Medium body, possibly more; gives thoughts of being chewy. Carbonatio...read more

Overall Rating: 8.2 by 1 dude 100%

Petite Sour - Rose

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

American Wild Ale

8.3 by scot

Pours cloudy into a snifter. A small amount of light pink foam covers. Recedes quickly. No lacing. Aroma is hay, barnyard, funky tartness and raspberry. The first sip is a doozy as I didn't expect the level of sour (lingers well after the beer is gone). Barnyard and raspberry ride on the funky tart train from the middle into the finish. Light body with a ton of carbonation to get it there. Dry. No Oak. I never say no to Crooked Stave. Rose reminds me why. The sour is a bit aggressive...read more

Overall Rating: 8.3 by 1 dude 100%

M-43 N.E. IPA

Old Nation Brewing Company

American IPA

9.4 by scot

Canned on 03/08/2019. Poured into a Funky Buddha snifter. Cloudy. Vigorous pour brings on a huge white foam, half the snifter. Thick, spotty lacing. Retention is short lived. Aroma is tropical: mango with hints of pineapple. Taste has hints of sweet but the hops are a bit subdued. Tropical. Light mouthfeel but seems to fit the beer. Juicy but eventually dries the mouth. Little to no bitterness. This is a great beer. Definitely needs to be fresh as all NEIPAs should be. The tropical...read more

Overall Rating: 9.4 by 1 dude 100%

Problem No Problem

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

Saison

8.8 by scot

Bottled on 2017-12-19. Poured in to a small snifter. Pours crystal clear. Thin white foam covers, quickly receding to a ring around the edges of the glass. Surprising for the style and atypical of Jolly Pumpkin beers; maybe the small pour. Quality lacing, represented by thick residue clinging to the glass. Aroma is a mix of tart and barnyard up front. Musty, aged oak and a touch of lemon. Slowly warming scents of pear, green grape and intensifying lemon and tart/vinegar funk. Earthy. Sp...read more

Overall Rating: 8.8 by 1 dude 0%

Hop Nawi

Energy City Brewing

American IPA - New England (NEIPA)

8.5 by rich

A: Definitely hazy, can see through glass. Attractive orangey gold. Nice off-white soft, small bubbles foamy head, of moderate retention. Overall this brew and an appealing look. S: Pineapple, mango, and maybe grapefruit...full blown tropical small. Complete balance and high appeal. T: Pineapple and slight grassiness, and some pine bitterness at the end. Appropriate sweetness for the NEIPA style, sweet balanced by hop bite. Good mouthfeel, slightly lower than moderate thickness. O: Solid NEIP...read more

Overall Rating: 8.4 by 2 dudes 100%

Mind Haze

Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

American IPA

8.9 by rich

A: Light golden straw, hazy without floaters, soft white foam that's semi-thick. S: Mango and peach. Aroma is all fresh fruit and really clean. T: All pineapple, mango, and peach. But the sweetness has a really light touch, which I thinks really makes this beer standout among other hazy brews which can veer too sweet. Moderately substantial mouthfeel. Low bitterness that is appropriate to the style. O: Super balanced, avoids the over the top flavor mistakes that some hazy beers fall into. I thin...read more

Overall Rating: 8.9 by 1 dude 100%

Hopsmack!

Toppling Goliath Brewing Company

American Imperial IPA

9.6 by scot

Packaged on 02/06/2019. Pours cloudy, almost opaque. Several fingers of pure white foam. Great retention immediately leaving thick, sticky lacing behind. Aroma is dank/resin, tropical fruit, pine and hints of grapefruit. Resinous more as it warms. Really hop forward and pleasant. Taste follows the nose. Moderately sweet. Pine, dank, resin and grapefruit were all bold with pine being the strongest flavor. Grapefruit lingers in the finish creating a bitterness. Medium/creamy mouthfeel w...read more

Overall Rating: 9.6 by 1 dude 100%