The thing about
High Wire is that they are obviously skewing up word in their ratings, and my personal connection to them (nothing more than visiting their brewery) has endeared them to me to the point that I question whether or not I can be suitably objective when it comes to their beers. Yes, I have given them some bad reviews, but haven't really lumped a whole lot of beers at the low end of the scale. Maybe it's just that they put together really good beer. That's what I'm going with for now.
Oh the lacing left by this sticky, pillowy foam is great! It sits on top of a hazy bronze beer with tiny suspended white bits throughout. The aroma is tropical fruits and pine with a malt that is subtle, but it is dampening down the hops enough to make the aroma well balanced; we can only assume at this point that it will translate to the taste.
First sip has a whole heap more pine than the aroma led me to imagine. I don't even know if there are fruits in there at all. The malt is still dampening down everything well enough, but the lack of fruits leaves the mouth dry and wanting for something a little more refreshing. It's not a bad sip, but it's not doing anything for me.
Tip-in is barely a carbonation tickle with citrus rind and bread malt. The middle bathes the mouth with carbonation sizzle that the pine enhances, but it doesn't overwhelm the taste; a note of caramel helps out with a soothing glance. The finish is sprightly carbonation dazzle with pine must trailing off.
Bottom Line: A bit aggressive, but not bad.
2.5/5
