This beer's name is Teal, and the only thing I know about teal is that it is a color and it's also the first name of a woman who is apparently trying to start a cult of some kind. I really don't know much about her, and I really don't know that much about the color. I mean, what makes this different than seafoam or blue green? What makes any of them applicable to beer? Is the beer going to be this color? Any eagle eye reader who is looking at this page will see the picture that is with it, and it is not a strange color for beer. It is a strange name for one, though.
The beer is a very nice yellow with foam that leaves quite a bit of lacing and some packets of bubbles sticking to the sides along the rim. It says hazy on the can, and I can confirm that this is hazy. It's not the most hazy beer I've ever had, but I don't think that's a good standard to go by. After all, the haziest beers I've gone with have been Bearded Iris, and they don't label their beers as hazy, in general. The aroma is light and ethereal with grains and citrus eventually able to be picked out.When I go into an IPA, I expect it to be quite flavorful and have difficulty getting out of its way to deliver flavors to the taste buds. In this case, the beer is sublime and somewhat sedate. There are quite a few flavors in there, but none of them are knocking down the door to get in. Instead, this first sip reveals a gentle beverage that is highly approachable for an IPA. Even a New England IPA, which is normally more dim your than a regular IPA, tends to have a bit more frivolity than this one has. You shouldn't think that this doesn't have any flavor, though, as citrus and grains mellow in the background, but they are pretty tasty.
Tip-in is moderate carbonation with grains under a layer of tartness with oranges and tangerines floating on top of it. The middle moves carbonation to the roof of the mouth where it can burn all on its own as the tartness goes completely away and the grains mix delightfully with the newly introduced grapefruit, and nothing gets too rambunctious. The finish has a flash of bitterness before the host of flavors start to trail off and leave just the smidge of the tartness that was tasted in the beginning.
Bottom Line: Subtle and understated.
4.0/5