Red Hook "Long Hammer" IPA

While the design (and the name) makes the beer look like it might be from Russia, this is actually from Oregon. I have had a surprisingly large number of beers from the... Rain State? I would expect by population to have had a lot more beers from California, and it turns out I get things from Oregon and Vermont - states that don't have a whole lot of nice days, so people concentrate on indoor activities like brewing beer.

The golden beer has a thin, off-white head that doesn't amount to much, but it is a pleasing doily on top of what is honestly a pretty remarkably attractive, clear beer. The aroma is sweet malt with a dusting of flowers and fruits. The beer is about as mouth-watering as it could be expected to be, and I'm diving in. 

First sip is more bitter than the aroma. The aroma implied a kind of doughy, sweet malt, and the doughiness is there, but it's not really holding off the bitterness particularly well. Flowers and fruit rind make up the measurable difference in the sensations, but the impression of the sip over all is... kind of forgettable. It's not bad, and it's not watery; it's just vague and dull.

Tip-in is light carbonation burn with the dough malt and grapefruit spritz. The middle strolls in with hot carbonation attack with the dough malt becoming caramel and the fruit rinds lingering in their vague and indistinct mist. The finish is a wave of bitter juice that trails off into an unexpected sweetness. 

Bottom Line: Not bad.

2.5/5