The orange-amber beer has a fairly thin head that clumps together and spits lacing at the wall of the glass like an insulted waiter spitting in the soup. The aroma is sweet oranges - blood and mandarin oranges to be specific. Maybe there is tangerine in there with it, but the whole effect is a lot sweeter than any IPA and most DIPAs that I've encountered. Of course, that's just the smell, and we're about taste here.First sip is solid but not as sweet as I'd expected. It has a lot more of the wheat and grains of the malt than the sweetness that I thought it was bringing. So, the hops? Those oranges and a spritz of grapefruit are lighting up the sky with their bright and effervescent flavor. The sip is a good one. Nothing wrong with the sip. What about the gulp?
Tip-in is very mild carbonation tingle with the absolute meat of the orange right up in the middle of the mouth with light grains on the edges. The middle is more of a bready malt - but it's thick with grains while the oranges and grapefruit are doing a great job of putting some sweet icing on the cake. The finish is a tang of bitterness with grains flowing in through the trail-off.
Bottom Line: She's good, Jim. She's damn good.
4.0/5
