8.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9.5

Double hazy IPA by a brewery in Illinois I haven't encountered before, from a can bought online. Egg-white, tightly papery lacing, coarse and irregularly opening head, misty yellow-straw blonde robe with pale apricot tinge. Luscious, dank aroma of stale lime juice, overripe mango, sweet red onions or shallots frying in olive oil, pink grapefruit juice, freshly cut raw celery, soggy biscuit cake, damp marijuana, wet white pepper, gin, lychee. Crisp and fresh onset, sweet with ripe mango, lychee, pear and mandarin impressions, light sourish edge, medium carbonation strong enough to add refreshing minerally 'stings' here and there but not too strong so as to leave the flavours undisturbed; smooth, soft doughy and biscuity maltiness, sweetish and soaked in highly aromatic, tropical and oniony (Simcoe!) hoppiness, citric (Citra!) too, very refreshing, bright and colourful with a truckload of tropical fruit and sweet citrus plus a fresh green onion-like 'herbal' note; lingering peppery hop bitterishness as well, accentuated by a gin-like alcohol warmth. Quite complex, with a very good balance between sweetness and bitterness, I think this is a top notch NEIPA of a quality level rarely seen outside of the specialists' ranges (Trillium, Hill Farmstead, Tree House, Cloudwater) - this is an absolutely great example of its style. Not just sweet fruit juice, but with a 'green' and bitter hop aspect to keep things in place, this is one I highly recommend if you are into this style. Really enjoyed this one!