2nd Shift "Sunny Cat" New England IPA

I think I have found that I'm a fan of the New England style of IPAs. I may have resisted the seemingly sudden onslaught of examples of this fledgling style, but I found what they are all about, and I have accepted them for it. Are they as good as those smooth West Coast IPAs? Possibly. Are they as good as, say, a Belgian Ale? Look, they are different things entirely, imaginary person talking to me, and I reject your comparison of them.

Voluminous big, fluffy bubbles of stark white surmount the cloudy orange-yellow beer. The bubbles have a bit of a stickiness to them that leaves some lacing along the sides as they go down - it's not a webwork, but you can tell bubbles were there. The aroma under those bubbles is citrus on citrus with oranges, grapefruit, and lemons piled on top of a distinct tangerine with some grains underpinning everything. It smells delightful.

First sip is a lot more solid and sedate than the aroma. It is really thick with the very meat of the fruits while the malt is actually more doughy, and the result is that the bitter citrusfest I had anticipated is actually a well-balanced study of what a beverage can be while still highlighting a particular added flavor. The tangerine is nestled into the dough nicely, and the result is quite good. But how will a swig go?

Tip-in is carbonation burn with tangerine and oranges bringing their citric acid up to contribute to the burn. The middle becomes comparatively gentle with all of the citrus flavors joining and milling about while the acid and carbonation burn drop significantly to allow those flavors to shine with the dough backing. The finish is an abrupt end to the burning entirely as the tangerine and orange peels trail off.

Bottom Line: Good. Very good.

3.25/5