6.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

NEDIPA (or in this case, NEIIPA) by Beer Zombies in Las Vegas, collaborating with Abomination from Connecticut; apparently brewed in Las Vegas so here it is, my very first tick for the state of Nevada. Large- and very uneven-bubbled, irregular, loose, egg-white 'head' (or rather an assembly of bubbles), opening and dissolving (completely in the end) over a cloudy apricot blonde beer with ochre-ish tinge - which, in the end after adding the sediment, turns all milky and yellow-beige, looking like home made pear juice (especially after the head has gone). Strong bouquet of calamondin, halfripe mango, pomelo, lime zest, indeed a whiff of black peppercorns as is typical for Pacific Jade hops, Clementine Martini or Tequila Sunrise (as served in Vegas I suppose), unripe pineapple, granadilla, guava, undertones of diesel, green onion and glue. Juicy onset as promised - very juicy even, like a mix of pomelo and lime juice, mango juice and granadilla juice, tropical with a crisp citric edge, the latter reinforced by lively sparkling carbonation (on the sharpish side for the style even); 'faux' tropical hop sweetness pierces through a surprisingly slender, bit doughy and bready maltiness, but the juice effect remains dominant over anything else, paired with that tangy citrusiness like in some refreshing citrus-based cocktail. This effect, in turn, is then accentuated by a late but noticeably warming, gin-like alcohol glow - which, immediately obvious as it is, proves somewhat less wry and obnoxious than I was expecting at this ABV. The hops also provide a late spicy bitter touch, apart of course from this huge tidewave of tropical fruit and citrus zest; ends actually relatively dry, with the juiciness seemingly fading away in favour of the bitterness of the hops - which are accompanied by a quite severe hop burn in the end, to be considered a flaw in this type of beer - and the alcohol (accentuating this hop burn, an effect that gradually becomes worse and eventually ends up in near-undrinkability!). For a NEIPA at this quite formidable strength and not including the final stage where the hop burn just becomes too much, this beer manages to hold itself together rather well. Less sweet, less astringently boozy and less 'dank' than I was expecting - this is not a bad effort in this style, though it definitely lacks finesse and gives a rather burly, fiery and crude impression. I have never been to Vegas (some friends and family members have), but this beer at least offers me a small sip of its exuberance and decadence.