This beer is the latest in a run of beers lately that is sporting a very sticky head. This one even stays around a lot longer than the others - it leaves a good 1/3 inch of head bobbling on the top. The color is a cloudy straw with an aroma of biscuits, citrus, honey, and hops piled on high. The hops are mostly floral, and they compliment the biscuits very well.First sip is not bad at all. I was afraid that the bitter bite of the hops would take over the entire beer, but it is tempered well by the biscuit malt. The hops have quite a bit of flower taste about them, but they seem balanced with a bit of pine. As a sip, it's a nice, simple beer with even a hint of sweetness from the honey. I'm almost afraid of spoiling it with a full gulp, but that's what they pay me for. Well, I say pay me, but I'm not actually doing this for money.
Tip-in is mostly floral hops with a hint of orange and honey. Carbonation is fairly minimal, and the middle is allowed to stride in with a floral scrape on the back of the throat. I expected a more gentle beverage, but this really feels like it's overpowering everything else in the beer. The hops are good, and I like hops, but they are an ingredient - they are not a force to be obeyed. As the finish pulls up, things mellow out nicely with the honey sweetness, the bread, and all that stuff. It ends as simply as it began, but the middle was heavy metal.
Bottom Line: A very good beer, but it needs more work to be a great beer.
3.5/5
