Hutton & Smith "Wrecktonic" Double IPA

Hazy IPAs have become all the rage these days. However, this is a hazy double IPA. I genuinely don't remember if I've run into one of these before, but the boys from Chattanooga have decided that this is the way they wanted to go with it. According to their can, they took the very good Tectonic IPA and decided to turn it into a double IPA. Assuming this is as good as its brother, this could be a very good night, indeed.

I have, without a doubt, had hazier beers. This one is almost clear; I don't know why they decided to call this hazy. Nevertheless, the honey gold beer produces quite a bit of foam when poured into the glass, and it takes me a while to get the entire can into this particular vessel. This is unusual, as the glass is capable of holding 16 ounce beers, and this is only a 12 ounce can. When the head boils down, it leaves a rocky, uneven pattern of bubbles, and I get to keep some lacing on the sides of my glass. The aroma is vaguely citrus and tropical fruits with a honey malt underneath.

First sip is smooth over all, and the beginning of the beer is very crisp, but the lingering bitterness of the hops holds on the tongue much longer than the beer stays in the mouth. It's not particularly raucous in its hoppiness or in its bitterness, but the bitterness stays on for so much longer than the rest of the sip that it colors in all of the empty spots that are left underneath the citrus and tropical fruits. It's not a bad sip, but it doesn't match its brother.

Tip-in is sweet honey with tangerine and grapefruit crowding into the rest of the mouth. The middle sloshes in with a delightfully balanced sweet honey base and a mix of delightful fruits bringing their juice and a little bit of tartness to the mix. The finish is a downturn of bitterness followed by fruit rinds that trail off into floral bitter.

Bottom Line: A very good beer.

3.5/5