Canned on 12/26/2019, this review on 7/8/2020, so not that fresh for a hazy IPA. Bright fruity hop aromas, almost floral. Smooth bite of hops that gets filled in with malt that is smooth and fluffy. Yeast sweetness is minor. Finishes very clean. Very tasty. Next time I’ll try to find it even fresher!
5 out of 5 stars.
I’ve had this before, but never made an official review. Reviewed here on 7/8/2020, bottled on 6/3/2020, so still fresh.
Notable aroma of hop bitterness and malt. Crisp bite of hop bitterness, decent malt flavor without caramel sweetness. Lingering hop bitterness that is notable but not overpowering. But still don’t venture here unless you definitely like hop bitterness!
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Not the typical lager. Reddish/amber color and strong bready malt flavors provided by the Munich malt. The yeast gives it a quenching punch, with little detection of hops.
Brewed: 6/5/2020. Distributed: 7/7/2020.
ABV: 5.5% IBU: 31
Malts: Munich, Brewer’s 2-row, White Wheat, Caramel 20L
Hops: Magnum, Citra, Galena
Yeast: WLP830 German Lager
This was the second beer made for Jim’s failed 60th surprise birthday party. The first beer I called Get Off My Lawn as an homage to someone turning 60 and yelling and young kids in his yard. It was hoppy and higher alcohol, so it was a bit more like someone yelling, “Get Off My Lawn!” This one is mellower, but since it’s still in the “Surprise Birthday Series”, I carried forward the name, even thought it didn’t make much sense.
Slight malt sweetness with very minor hop bitterness. This is definitely more of a malty tasting beer than hoppy beer. Overall fairly mild, but still gives a tastebud tweak in the aftertaste with a bit of hops.
Brewed: 6/6/2020. Distributed: 7/1/2020.
ABV: 6.2% IBU: 34
Malts: Maris Otter, Brewer’s 2-row Pale, White Wheat, Munich Malt
Hops: Hallertauer, Citra, Columbus, Simcoe
Yeast: Wyeast 1056 American Ale
Almost no aroma. Very little taste, a bit of caramel malt. Carbonation seems low, maybe they’re calling sure to quarantine, but not really carbonated canning. Might be a very different beer if well carbonated.
3 out of 5 stars.
Super sweet aroma of malt and bananas. Initial taste of peanut butter, followed by yeast sweetness, and fades to leave banana flavors lingering. Sweet, but odd, and slightly alcohol-ly.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
This was my first attempt at a high gravity IPA, and I was trying to create a recipe that would use a healthy dose of my bulk grains and hops that I may have overbought… It was planned to be a 10% ABV, and hence the clever name based on CDC guidance that to kill the COVID virus you needed a disinfectant with at least 70% alcohol.
Anyway, gravity turned out lower than planned, and a last minute yeast issue had me using different yeast than originally planned. So I ended up splitting the batch in two, and using two different yeasts.
Both versions have the common thread of a big punch of hop bitterness, a mild malt presence, and notable alcohol bite/aroma. The batch fermented with East Coast Ale yeast has sweeter, fuller taste, and the batch fermented with the Vermont IPA yeast is a bit smoother.
Brewed: 5/25/2020. Distributed: 6/19/2020.
ABV: 7.9% (Vermont IPA), 8.9% (East Coast Ale) IBU: 154
Malts: Maris Otter, Viking Xtra Pale, Flaked Wheat, White Wheat, Red X
Hops: Magnum, Citra, Columbus, Falconer’s Flight, Amarillo, Cascade
Yeast: Gigayeast GY054 Vermont IPA, White Labs WLP008 East Coast Ale
Overall very mild. Very little malt flavor, slight hop bite with mild hop aroma.
Brewed: 5/22/2020. Distributed: 6/19/2020.
ABV: 5%, IBU: 28
Malts: Viking Xtra Pale
Hops: Magnum, Chinook
Yeast: Wyeast 1056 American Ale
Super fruity aroma, strong juice and hops smell. Slightly puckering sweetness like grapefruit juice, with orange-y flavors on back end. No malt presence, very little carbonation. Smooth, yet puckering, combined with during fruit flavors.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Sweet aroma of hops, with a tropical twist. Smooth taste that quickly spreads across the palate. Slight hop bitterness that smooths out quickly and leaves you with a yeast taste. Further drinks seem to crispen the taste and leave the taste buds puckered.
After a few drinks, leaves a very distinct, salty aftertaste. Not a fan of that…
3 out of 5 stars.