My first Sycamore beer. I think the new breweries I'm trying these days are getting fewer and further between, but it's not by my choosing. I have to deal with what I can find, and I try to get as diverse a selection of beer as I can while I'm picking stuff up, but I know to be cautious of sours, coffee beer, and Magic Hat. Still, I'm gratified to have access to this new (to me) brewery.
The beer is generous with head (but not excessive) and retains a nice, thick splotch of off-center bubbles floating on top. Lacing abounds above the yellow-turning-orange beverage, and an aroma of very sweet, creamy goodness with fruits all mashed up in there enhances the enticement of the beer.First sip is not the sweet candy I had prepared myself for. Instead, a bitterness and dryness seem to cut right through the otherwise sweet malt. The sensation was off-putting, but that's because it calls itself candy on the label. I'm taking a rare second sip, and it is not bad, when you expect the thick, creamy, bitter-sweet onslaught; the thickness is one of the things I really enjoy about DIPAs.
Tip-in is mild carbonation sizzle over sweet caramel malt with a bitterness that is absolutely pervasive. The middle is thick and solid with orange, tangerine, and grapefruit hitting mango in the face while everyone is trying to keep bitterness out of the middle of the mouth in favor of the sweetness. The finish is Revenge of the Bitterness as it shoves everything out of the way - and even the dryness of the sip can't fight its way back in.
Bottom Line: Not candy, but also not bad.
3.0/5