Tap in Maple Shade as ’The Situation’ -- always happy to see brewers cash in on the Jersey Shore phenomenon, right? Right? Copper with clingy white head. Beautiful American hop nose, heavy grapefruit with grapey notes reminiscent of Sauvin (not saying it’s Nelson here but that’s the effect for me), faint booze. Medium-full body, slick with citric hops, orange and grape, peach! Like that it’s not syrupy. Alcohol well-integrated, gentle warming and bro-licious!

Pours a clear gold with a medium white head. Aroma has hoppy notes of tropical fruits and a bit of caramely sweetness. Flavor follows suit...just a bit buttery but not in a bad way...still nice tropical fruit hoppiness. Mouthfeel is full...a bit syrupy...and the finish is slightly sweet with fruit and a light buttery note.

Draft at the annual Split Thy Skull event at Tattooed Moms. 2nd year this one has appeared - and in both instances as The Situation. Despite being Jersey Shore phobic, I like this one. Clear amber pour. Lots of earthy dry hops. Fuller body than expected for such a light looking beer. Not overly complicated but full of alcohol and suspiciously smooth. Not unlike a certain ... oh, never mind :p

Golden and harmless looking with rimming off white head; arma is hoppy; Flava is perfect blend of hops and sweetness; feels creamy with slight fizz; finishes zingy and dry hoppy.

Amber in color with a thin white head. Sweet tangerine aroma is perhaps more IIPA than ABW, despite substantial malt. Taste is mostly as it smells. but it’s perhaps a bit one-note.

Aroma of caramel, berries, pine and alcohol. Pours bright amber and uncarbonated. Tastes of alcohol up front and throughout. Hints of pine hops and grapefruit make this lighter feeling than most barleywines. Pleasant but too much unmasked booze.

In short: A thick, sticky and extremely hoppy golden big beer.
How: Cask conditioned at brewpub, Maple Shade location, NJ. Called “The Situation”
The look: Partly cloudy golden body topped by a medium white head with good retention
In long: Intense nose of highly resinous hops, some alcohol fumes and caramel. Taste proposes a thick a very sticky caramelized and honeyed malt backbone. Then comes a truckload of extremely resinous hops. Alcohol is a bit present but not overwhelming. There was something very sticky about this beer, I could feel it coating the inside of my mouth getting stuck in my throat. Overall this felt like some kind of resinous Triple IPA. Intense pleasant sipper. At the Maple Shade location in New-Jersey this beer was called “The Situation”, the star of a popular local reality show called Jersey Shore. Americans now name their beers after reality shows! Sad. Anyway, I’ve come to think that the main problem with the USA is that the people who vote for American Idols are also the ones who vote for an American President.

20110430 tap at maple shade. Golden color, white head. Floral, soapy aroma. Nice sticky sweet on palate. Lingering citrus and resinous bitterness. Just the way I like a barley wine, harsh and aggressive.

Draft of what I would consider a DIPA. Poured a clear orange/amber with a smaller bright white foamy head. Aroma is pine, citrus, almost sweet despite all the hops. Flavor of dry citrus rind, fresh hops, toast, dry pine needles. Dry palate despite all the hops. Solid but if it wasn’t so dry I’d swear this was a DIPA.

From a growler my buddy got at the Maple Shade location. Pours a rich golden in color with a fluffy white head. Very floral aroma, some citrus and spice. Very hop heavy, pine notes, some spice, mostly citrusy hops. Great medium body, and a fairly clean finish, but the alcohol level of this beer sneaks up on you.