I have no experience with Dorchester (although, I think I drove through the area outside of Boston on more than one occasion) as a brewery, but I've had some
Abomination beers before. I don't think I've had enough to come to any kind of conclusion about them, but they are leaning to the correct end of the scale, and I wish for them to continue their trek toward
perfection. That said, more than one brewery involved often means compromises and a compromised product.
The beer is dense with a haze that deepens the orange color immensely. The head seems pretty good at first, but the effect of time rapidly dissipates it until there isn't even that familiar ring around the sides of the glass - just a light dusting of bubbles jutting into the center from one of the sides like the lower peninsula of
Michigan. The aroma is orange and grapefruit with a bit of resin sprinkled on top.
First sip is very smooth. I expected more of a hoppy bitterness with a tangy bite or something, but instead, there is a lingering dank that smooths out the rough edges of the orange rind, mango, resin, and peach. I'm normally not a huge fan of hemp dankness, but it seems like these guys are using it the way it should be used.
Tip-in is very gentle carbonation tickle with orange rind, sweetened grapefruit, and mango. The middle sprawls out into a soft carbonation cradle for the same fruits, but it adds a little dank hemp, coriander, peach, and pear. The finish adds tart that wasn't in the sip and turns up the dank until the fruits aren't there, but the resin mixes in for the trail-off.
Bottom Line: Things that help the sip drag down the gulp.
2.75/5
