The weird thing about
Abomination is that they've been all over the place. They had a
strong recommend, a weak
possible recommend, and then a do
not recommend. I'm not sure if this is the kind of meandering, rampaging trail that I should find from an abominable snowman, or if these guys are just trying to see what sticks when they throw stuff at the wall. Well, they threw something else at the wall, and I'm here to drink it right now.
The straw yellow beer has a pretty full head, and it leaves lacing as it recedes into an uneven blanket across the top of the beer. The aroma is quite strident, and it's filled with tropical and citrus fruits above all else. This beer just plain smells great. The haziness of the beer would have led me to believe that this was an
IPA, but this is clearly labeled a
pale ale that has been dry hopped. I'm not great at knowing details of processes that brewers go through, but whatever they did appears to have been correct.
First sip is more subtle than any of the IPAs that I've had recently. Yes, this makes more sense as a pale ale with the very approachable, calm demeanor that it portrays. The back end definitely has a lot more going on than the beginning, but the overall effect is still a very smooth and easy beverage. This suits me just fine, as I kinda really needed something good and simple today. This is fitting the bill nicely.
Tip-in is moderate carbonation burn with tangerines, mangoes, oranges, and grapefruits at the forefront. When the middle hits, the carbonation rises to the top of the mouth to poke around up there, and the bread rises to meet all of the fruits in the middle of the mouth; at the fringes there is bitterness. When the finish finally comes, the bitterness rises with a dryness and a mustiness before fading off into a musty grapefruits and tangerine mix.
Bottom Line: It's a good beer.
4.0/5
