Well, it looks like an IPA. I'm not sure what the milkshake part of this is going to be, but I put it in an IPA glass. The beer is a very hazy brassy orange color, and the head doesn't really get retained all that well. What's worse, there isn't going to be any lacing, and I really expect a lot of lacing from my IPAs. The aroma is, suitably, mostly mandarin orange. But, there is something else going on in the citrus and even tropical fruit department like mango and a tangerine or something similar. The way it is hitting my nose is like a Creamsicle has been added to this beverage. It's a very strange, but I'm heading in.First sip is very unique and pretty darn good. I understand why they have call this a milkshake IPA. It again makes me think of a Creamsicle, but the orange associated with a Creamsicle is normally not of the Mandarin style. The lactose that has been added is definitely smoothing all the rough edges of this beer out. It has a bitter bite at the beginning, but it doesn't last very long, and there's a sweetness that lingers. This beer is really making me want to go for a full swig, and that's what I'm going to do.
Tip-in is carbonation sizzle with those mandarin oranges up front and the creamy lactose bedding down with a tangerine under it. The middle flexes into one helluva smooth beverage; it features orange, mango, tangerine, mandarin orange (I should probably have mentioned this first) on top of that amazingly smooth lactose coated sweet malt. The finish has a nicely complex wave of bitterness followed by a wave of sweetness followed by orange and finally allowing the orange and the lactose to trail off.
Bottom Line: Pretty spectacular.
4.75/5
