Review – Humulo Nimbus from Sound Brewery

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I first encountered Sound Brewery at the Great American Beer Festival.  Even got a chance to talk to them for a bit which is always cool for a beer geek.  And thanks to a gift card for Christmas, I was able to re-acquaint myself with the Poulsbo, Washington brewery.  Here are my brief thoughts on Humulo Nimbus.

Pours a dark orange.  Nice bubbly head to this one and right after popping the cap, I literally got a blast of grapefruit.  One of the stronger aromas that has hit me in recent times.  That initial hit faded considerably after and what remained was a really, really strong Double IPA.  I know some lighter in color and malt bill are triples so I would have to re-classify this one as an Imperial IPA.  Some pith citrus notes remain but as the beer warms in the glass more caramel notes and more of a pine bitterness take center stage.  As if the grapefruit was the opening act and then the caramel is the main attraction.

They also brew a Belgian DIPA which I hope to one day compare and contrast with this one.

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Xmas 2012 – Sound Brewery / Entendez Noel

We head to my favorite new (to me) brewery of 2012, Sound Brewery for their Holiday offering…

“AKA The Mother Of All Tripels (MOAT)Entendez Noel is a unique intense Belgian-style that can be considered an imperial triple or pale quadruple. Some warming alcohols and spicy notes (from fermentation only, no spices added) make this beauty perfect for our first holiday beer. Enjoy the ever changing aroma and flavors as you and the beer warm up.”

Tip of the Design hat…

It is one thing to design a cool label. But to use three different elements to tie one entire bottle together is a great design and one that get me to look at it on a crowded shelf. The individual beer labels have bold colors that play well against the orange logo and then the protective seal makes the whole shebang look classy and the addition of the risque names really ties it all together.

Kudos to Sound Brewery (where I snagged this photo from) for a great bottle look.