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Earlier this month, I re-reviewed a beer from Stone Brewing, now, don’t get confused, I am reviewing a beer from Firestone Walker, Hopnosis IPA.
This is yet another light and bright beauty from FW. Hopnosis pours a darkish yellow. There is a light pine earthy aroma that really pops. The bitterness is calibrated just right. As you drink, a little fruit punch flavor creeps into adding another layer.
Heading back to the BSP blog vault to see what I thought of the Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA collaboration back in 2011.
Stone has gone into their vaults to un-retire beers and this was the one that I wanted to try again the most, so let’s see what I think of this re-release ten years later.
Getting a matcha type nose to this initially, then that first sip is a punch of it and a punch of alcohol. I can sense that their are hops underneath but the ABV is covering it well. The tea is solidly second place throughout. I get a tiny squeeze of lemon as well to add another dimension. Glad this is in a 12oz can for sure.
Since March Madness is upon us, I thought I could do a mini-bracket of Figueroa Mountain Santa Barbara Shandys and see who comes out the winner.
First matchup is Mango Lemonade vs Hibiscus Lime. Followed by Watermelon vs Citrus with the two winners advancing in the Shandy final.
Round One – Appearance wise, the Hibiscus Lime wins with a sparkly dark pink tint. Aroma left something to be desired for both. Both were in an uncanny valley of beer mostly but fruit underneath. None of these had strong fruit flavors. Both were quite watery leading to a generic kind of wheaty beer taste. There was more lime flavor than mango or lemonade.
Winner – Hibiscus Lime but not a strong winner.
Round Two – The Watermelon pours a slightly darker yellow. Neither really wins the appearance battle. Watermelon has a touch too much of the Jolly Rancher aroma while the Citrus has the same kinda weird aroma that the Mango Lemonade did. The Citrus tastes exactly like the Hibiscus Lime except not pink. Watermelon fits into the watery mouthfeel better and tastes less hard candy than it smells.
Winner – Watermelon easily.
Final – Since Watermelon crushed Citrus, it is not surprising that it wins this round as well. Interestingly, as these warm up, the fruit flexes more. But overall, all four were disappointing. The watery character was surprising, making these closer to mineral water than a Shandy The grain taste was more prominent in all of them and all had weird aromas to them.
Last of the three featured reviews is the famed Bourbon barrel stout from New Holland Brewing, Dragon’s Milk.
The Dragon pours pitch black with a nice tan head to it. Quite nearly the prototypical, approachable bourbon-barrel stout. Slight bourbon nose with a smaller, tiny alcohol burn to it. A little sweet with a hit of vanilla. A little vinous quality as well. It does not taste anyway near 11%. I would have liked to see a little more heft to it.
Our next “old” beer that I want to highlight is a dubbel from Canada, Maudite and the flying canoe from Unibroue.
This is how the brewery describes the flavor, “Velvety palate of caramelized sugar and marmalade, slightly roasted with a spicy finish.”
First off, Belgian yeast esters wave over along with a nice spice profile as well. A very full mouthfeel to this beer. Carbonation adds a playful tone to the beer as well. I also pick up a bit of red apple juice. I don’t think that Unibroue makes a bad beer.
I hope that you purchased your Infinite Wishes from Smog City Brewing, I bought two of the variants and here are my thoughts…
Coconut Vanilla – I always worry that coconut will be too overpowering. But this smells and tastes like a Mounds bar. Back when they were made with actual chocolate and actual coconut. So smooth. A little ABV and carbonation bite at the end but that just balances the books as it were. Nice lingering dark chocolate flavor.
Double Bourbon – I guess that I was expecting DOUBLE. Aroma times 2. Flavor times 2. Luxury times 2. Instead, this tasted a bit thinner than the coconut/vanilla. The aroma is nicely bourbon and the taste is nice and strong but it is a bit slight. Maybe because it is bubbly on the tongue that is cutting the strength.
Such a different duo.
More goodies came from AleSmith recently so it is time to take a walk on the beach, I am not one for running.
This time Pizza Port was brought in to partner on Beach Run IPA.
This DDH IPA has Enigma, Cashmere and Sabro hops an pours a bright lustrous yellow. And it does pack a bitterness punch. I get a little bit of catty, a little bit of fruit punch and a little bit of pine as well. No coconut from the Sabro which I usually get. There is a bit of alcohol heat as well which is kinda weird for a beer below 7% ABV. It is smack dab in classic pre-2010 West Coast IPA territory.
The next AleSmith collab IPA will be with Revision Brewing, Split Aces in a red checked can.
Hair of the Dog Brewing is slowly shutting their doors. Before they and brewer Alan Sprints fade into beer history, I wanted to try (again) two of IPA’s. These were both canned in mid November of 2021 so they were just outside the recommended IPA freshness date.
Polka Dot – very earthy. pours a hazy light orange. big, real big for a 5.5% IPA. some candied orange hiding underneath the quite harsh bitterness.
Green Dot – pineapple is the dominant flavor. this has held up better, probably due to the higher ABV but it still is pretty harsh in spots, which is more a feature than an issue. there is an alcohol burn here that other TIPAs mask.
For my birthday, I received a few blast from the past beers. By that, I mean beers that I thought good but for many reasons, have not had in quite a long time.
First up is Old Rasputin from North Coast Brewing…
Roasty and chocolately come to mind right off the top. This pours jet black with a great espresso head to it.
Now, considering current events a Russian Imperial Stout might seem a poor choice to review but this is a California take on a British styled stout for Russian monarchy. That, like history, is not easy to untangle.
For a 9% beer, it is a bit thin in the mouthfeel. But that strong flavor carries the day. This is and probably ever will be a great beer float beer. This would pair so perfectly with a coffee ice cream.
Birthday week and month is now over and it was an easy pick for best of the month, Eagle Rock Brewery and their nitro pour of Umi Kumā Lua, their anniversary IPA.
The IPA in standard form has nutmeg in the recipe but that is amped a notch with the nitro pour that has fresh ground nutmeg over a super creamy top plus umbrella to get the full effect. The hop and that cream layer with that spice really work as a whole. No nitro cans but the non-nitro version is also quite good with notes of pear and pine.