Blood Orange Billy.
No, I mean what kind of beer?
It's Fat Orange Cat?
No, what's the style?
*reads small print*
*reads other, smaller print*
It's a new England India Pale Ale with blood orange.
Is that a thing?
Well, it appears these guys think it is.
Is that one of those 12% beers?
Well, it's part of the 12% project, but some of their other beers are part of that project, and none of them are 12%. This is probably not coincidentally 6.66% ABV. I don't think their Satanists, though.
Oh. It's one of THOSE.
Pale straw yellow beer is very hazy. It has almost no head right out of the can, and that allows me to fill my pint glass all the way to the top. What little head exists is pretty much just white, and there isn't going to be any lacing on this beer. The aroma is sweet with oranges, but there's a bit of a bite like harsh grain or an errant spice.First sip is pretty good. It's got the sweet orange right up front with kind of an orange peel rather than the meat of the orange, and then there's a tartness that goes with the little bit of light grain. It's a pretty good sip, but who knows what the swig will bring?
Tip-in is moderate carbonation burn with orange peel and grains struggling against each other. When the middle comes, the carbonation really starts to scrape the top of the mouth while orange juice is joined by a bit of mango and maybe some grapefruit as the grains continue to give substance to the juices. The finish is a little tart with the orange peel being the lasting flavor that trails off.
Bottom Line: A pretty good, perfectly drinkable beer.
3.0/5
