Straight out of the can, it produces very little head, and it is surprising how much lacing it can leave without so many bubbles on top. Mind you, it's still not a whole lot of lacing. Likewise, the puffs of bubbles in the center of the beer shouldn't really amount to much, but it's almost a complete island in the middle of the beer that stretches out to touch on at least one side. The dense, honey colored beer really looks very good. Once I take a whiff, I find that the aroma entices me even more than the look. It has a sweet malt that is complementing the citrus and tropical fruits very well. I'm betting this is going to be a good beer.
First sip is a lot more thin on the malt than I had expected from the aroma, and the result is a beer that is a lot more bitter than it needs to be with tropical and citrus fruits filling the center of the mouth with hops. I think there's pine adding to the bitterness on the back end, and for this cool night, the pine seems appropriate.
Tip in is a delightfully sweet honey malt mixing with echoes of bitterness that are coming from almost exclusively pine hops here at the beginning. The middle brings stinging carbonation to the roof of the mouth as bitterness is entwined in the hops that are mostly citrus, but they bring quite a bit of tropical flavor with them. The finish is a tad too bitter as it takes ahold of pine and runs with it into the trail off.
Bottom Line: More daunting than its sibling, a bitter mood and a bitter beer go well together.
3.0/5