Beer Ratings: New

Dok Brewing Company Gent, East Flanders

New England IPA by Dok, one of the latest releases to date, thanks Meeki for sharing the can. Membrane-lacing, egg-white, mousy and quite dense head on a cloudy yolk-yellow blonde beer with peachy tinge. Aroma of granadilla, mango purée, passionfruit lemonade, freshly grated radish, raw celery, egg yolk, overripe yellow kiwi. Sweetish onset, very fruit-juicy, mango, kiwi and passionfruit, spritzy in carbonation yet in a small-bubble, non-stingy way; soft, creamy (oats!), doughy maltiness, deeply soaked in bright citric hoppiness with a tropical twist to it as well as something green and spicy (the radish and celery I mentioned), even providing nicely lingering end bitterness, bringing balance to the initial sweetness. For that reason alone, an excellent NEIPA in my book.

Dok Brewing Company Gent, East Flanders

Dark IPA – or ‘Cascadian dark ale’ – by Dok Brewing Company in Ghent, thanks Meeki for sharing. Medium thick, pale greyish beige, mousy but opening head, misty dark bronze robe with brownish-copper hue (but not at all black!). Aroma of pine resin, toasted onion, hard caramel, some burnt toast, roses, apple peel, dried orange peel. Sweetish onset but restrained in fruitiness, raisins, fig and apple peel, lively carbonated, with smooth and bit oily mouthfeel; hard-caramelly and toasty-bitter maltiness, the bitterness eventually accentuated by hop bitterness, of a peppery and bit piney to wormwood character. Caramelly and toasty malt bittersweetness remains the dominant flavour also in the end, though. Well-hopped in an old school way – in a certain sense, this is closer to West Coast IPA than Dok’ter Who-Hoo, the other new Dok beer (in collaboration with Uiltje) thas is explicitly intended as one… As for ‘black IPA’, though: call it a brown IPA if you want, but this clearly isn’t black.

Dok Brewing Company Gent, East Flanders

IPA brewed at Dok in collaboration with one of Holland’s foremost craft brewers, Uiltje; apparently intended as a West Coast IPA. Thanks to Meeki for sharing the can! Medium sized, irregularly lacing, off-white, opening head on a hazy peach blonde beer. Aroma of green banana and banana peel, rainwater, dry biscuits, dried orange peel, straw, oxidized apple slices. Sweetish onset, unripe fruit, peach, some apple, medium carbonation, smooth and supple, very slick mouthfeel; light bready and thinly biscuity malt sweetish core, leading to an only softly hop bitter finish, rather grassy but with some retronasal orange peel aromatics as well, turning slightly peppery in the very end – but not at all offering the strong, long-lasting, grapefruity hop bitterness one expects from something intended as a West Coast IPA… This is more a ‘compromise’ IPA, very accessible and easygoing, which – and I vividly and fondly remember this – was not quite the case for West Coast IPA, if you were not used to it too much. Quite the disappointment in that sense especially seen the involvement of one of the best IPA brewers from the Netherlands, sorry guys!

Leigh on Sea Brewing Co. Leigh on Sea , Essex

Can from the brewery online shop. Pours clear golden with a thin white head. Classic corn and light lemon aromas. Taste is more of the same. Light astringent finish.

Future Mountain Brewing and Blending Reservoir, Victoria

From 375 ml bottle. Pours deep red/brown. Date on nose. Almost sticky mouthfeel. Medium sour, with that lovely woody turn expected of this style. The dates are there and almost a saltiness. Really spot on.

El Segundo Brewing Company El Segundo, California

From a can to a glass. Pours a slightly hazy light amber color with a big frothy creamy silky loose head. Aroma is sweetness upfront and light banana. Taste follows the aroma with a nice complex flavor hops profile and nice malt backbone balancing it out well. Medium mouthfeel. Very tasty west coast Ipa!.

Long Beach Beer Lab Long Beach, California

Can thanks to Jules. Pours a hazy copper gold with small white head that diminishes quickly. The aroma is dank and citrus. Medium body, oily hop, grapefruit, dank, lingering resin finish, good.

Cypress Brewing Company Edison, New Jersey

16 ounce can. Number one with a bullet. Hazy orange gold color. Substantial rocky beige head. Interesting berry aroma hints at cut grass and bubblegum. Flavor is malty upfront. Then comes complex notes of mango, citrus, pine and herbs with accent on mint. Finishes clean and flavorful with notes of passion fruit and peach.

Holy Mountain Brewing Company Seattle, Washington

16 oz can poured, picked up at Hop and Hound. I'm liking this new steady selection of new IPAs from these guys available in cans. Always a solid brew. Clean, shiny golden pour, thin fizz head. A pils like malt up front, with a grassy hop, moderate bitter follow. A slight bite up front, but an otherwise, smooth and refreshing IPA.

More Brewing Company Villa Park, Illinois

Aroma is nutmeg/cloves/slight vegetal and malts. The flavor is big nutmeg, malts, mild fruit and a crisp/slightly sweet/creeping alcoholic finish.

Matchless Brewing Tumwater, Washington

From a 16 oz can into a stem glass. Pours hazy light yellow with head and lace. Aroma of grains, lemon, grapefruit zest, lively hops. Significant carbonation and mouthfeel. Flavors of pale malt, grapefruit zest, minerals, hay. Overall rich, flavorful, decent.

Port Brewing Company / The Lost Abbey San Marcos, California

Bottle from SS membership. Pours a slightly cloudy yellow golden in color with a nice thick foamy white head... Aroma of tropical fruits, kiwi, grapefruit, white wine grapes, Sauvignon blanc, funk.... Flavor is only slightly tart, tons of juicy tropical fruit notes, kiwi is the first fruit that comes to mind, grapefruit, oak, funk... Love dry hopped sours, LA and HF killed it with this one ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Listermann Brewing Company Cincinnati, Ohio

12 oz. bottle from the brewery. Pours a hazy deep amber-brown, not as dark as the other one, with a small tan head that settles into a scattered ring and film. Notes of fudge, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar, cream, candied nuts, raisins, dates, bourbon and rye whiskey, oak, and toffee. Medium-full bodied, with low to modest carbonation and a sweet, chewy, warming mouthfeel that first finishes sticky and has less heat than the other one. In a brewery now known for them, this is one of the most absurd beer descriptions I've ever read. Depending on which candy bars and cookies they used, this is like 20 adjuncts. And it's indeed overcrowded and just generally sweet, but it has just enough more carbonation and body than the other to gain the edge.

Departed Soles Brewing Company Jersey City, New Jersey

16 ounce can. Number one with a bullet. Hazy orange gold color. Large frothy beige head. Tart, yeasty malt aroma hints at citrus and fruit. Big sour malt flavor. Mostly citrusy with notes of lime and crab apples. Any strawberry is lost on me. Brief sour dry finish.

Stone Arch Brewpub Appleton, Wisconsin

Keg at the brewery yesterday, 1/26/21. Bright, well balanced. Lots of lime, pale malt, mild salt. Nicely reminiscent of the cocktail.